Lily's Ballet Recital

I love this time of year.  It means I get to see Lily dance in her recital.  And if there's something I never get tired of, it's watching my kids perform whether it's ballet or soccer.  

Once you turn 7, you no longer perform on the little stage in the Holly Springs Cultural Center, you start performing at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium -- which if I was her age, I would be completely wowed and blown away.  Needless to say, when I told her she'd be dancing where we went to see the NC Symphony and the Carolina Ballet, she was thrilled.

Her class danced to the song "Strong" from the new Cinderella movie.  I love that song so much now that I've listened to it a hundred million times.  I don't always listen to the words when I hear music, but this one really speaks to me.

I snapped all these pictures at dress rehearsal.  All the moms in the crowd just melted when Lily's class of little Cinderellas walked out.  I have to say how connected I feel with other dance moms.  Whether your daughter is 7 or 17, we all get it.  We all just beam with pride as we watch our girls doing what they love.  It's a special camaraderie we all share. 

Lily's recital was fantastic.  Her classed performed second in an over 2 hour recital.  Surprisingly enough, the kids behaved great and Thad was especially intrigued the whole time.  

While Lily was performing I glanced over at Ben and totally caught him crying.  Let it be known that watching little girls dancing does wonders to anyone's emotions.  There was another performance that made my mom and I completely break down as well.  We wished my dad could have been there but he was sick.  We also wished Ben's parents could have been there but they'll get their own private performance when they visit this month.

After the recital was done we went to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner.  Lily was still in her costume and she was more than pleased with all the strangers who would come up to her to ask about her castle or would call her "Your Highness."  

Do they have to grow????