Can It Get Much Cuter ?

There is nothing cuter than a line of 3 and 4 year old little girls up on a stage performing in their first ever Dance Recital. My little princess was up there, dancing her precious heart out to the brilliantly choreographed, catchy number, "Pajama Time." All the girls were actually really great considering they were 4, they were up on a stage they'd never been on before, facing a dimly lit auditorium packed with hundreds of strangers. I mean, you couldn't have PAID me to do that as a child, and certainly not as a grown up.

I was so proud of her. She's not the most outgoing girl. She flips out if she enters a room where she feels everyone is "looking at her" and she has moments of insecurity for sure. But there she was, shakin' that little booty like a serious pro.

Watching her dance I got all emotional and had to choke back the tears. After being a mom for 13 years, I was finally at my first recital. You see, being a Mom was anything but 'normal' for me for the first 10 years. My eldest had so many disabling conditions, most notably severe autism. So, I spent the first decade of motherhood not in playdates, preschools, dance lessons, or the soccer field but rather in neurologist's offices, hospitals, IEP meetings, and various therapies. Finally, it hit me. Here I am, doing something 'typical,' and my heart was bursting with that long awaited joy.

To some, it was just a cute little dance recital. A video op. A sweet memory. For me, it was all those things and more. For me, it was indescribable bliss. Then, the baby vomited right on the back of a ladies chair, and it was back to reality!