My sweet little Anya was having a bad day. We call it a bad hair day around here. Her friend had come over to play, and ended up playing with her sister instead of her. She was feeling pretty sad and left out. I was typing at the computer and trying to get things done, and started to tell her that she just needed to find something else to do. But I looked up at her tear streaked face and stopped myself. I did not know what to do. I did not know how to make it better. For whatever reason, I got up and grab her by the arms. I am sure she probably thought she was really in trouble. I just spin her in a circle and then I spin her around the room and she is flying, laughing and dancing with me, while I am singing at the top of my lungs off key and very much out of tune! We dance around the living room, we dance around the kitchen, we dance into my bedroom and back out again. We dance and we dance! She ends up in a heap on the floor laughing at me. She calls me a "really weird mom", but that is OK, I know that I probably am. But oh my toasted, twisted toes, did we have fun!
So, here's the lesson I'd like to share with you today.
My all time favorite saying is simply, "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learning to dance in the rain". Sometimes, we get so caught up in the living of life, that we forget to take a little time to enjoy it. Sometimes, I am so serious. I forget how much my children need to dance. I forget that part of my job as a mother is to take the time to show them that we can make choices to be happy even when we are sad. It only took five minutes of my time, but she learned to laugh that day. She skipped outside to play with the other girls. The tears were gone. The crying was over. The storm had ended. The situation didn't change, but her perspective on what was important altered just enough for her to learn to dance in the rain. (And maybe, just a little bit around the house too!)
You never know what you can do until you get up and dance!
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