Tiny Dancer
Wednesday night, we joined a friend and her toddler for some live kids’ music at a park near home. The place was crawling with toddlers—ordinarily the sort of scene Lucia would hate. But the music was great—and Lucia absolutely loved it. She was so excited about seeing other babies dancing, and kept pointing to the wiggling crowd and saying “Baby!” Though she stayed close to me, she, too, danced maniacally and giggled nonstop with a huge toothy smile. Andrew met us there after work, and though I’d planned on leaving halfway through so we wouldn’t miss bedtime, she was having so much fun that we let bedtime slide by half an hour. (The horror!)
A mom from our playgroup wound up sitting behind us, and she was shocked at this wildly laughing, dancing Lucia. Lucia ordinarily wants nothing to do with anyone in playgroup and stays by my side the whole time, venturing forth now and then only to retrieve a toy which she then plays with at a safe distance from the others--who, admittedly, are usually all boys (though sweet ones). I was reminded, as I am so often, of my favorite dentist-office story, “The Two Carolines.” Except the two Lucias in this case aren’t the rude one and the polite one but the cautious, quiet, observant one and the free-wheeling Tiny Dancer. Those who witness the latter are truly privileged!
A mom from our playgroup wound up sitting behind us, and she was shocked at this wildly laughing, dancing Lucia. Lucia ordinarily wants nothing to do with anyone in playgroup and stays by my side the whole time, venturing forth now and then only to retrieve a toy which she then plays with at a safe distance from the others--who, admittedly, are usually all boys (though sweet ones). I was reminded, as I am so often, of my favorite dentist-office story, “The Two Carolines.” Except the two Lucias in this case aren’t the rude one and the polite one but the cautious, quiet, observant one and the free-wheeling Tiny Dancer. Those who witness the latter are truly privileged!
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