Progress...
That's as much as we can ask of ourselves or of anyone else isn't it? No one is perfect; nothing is perfect, but as long as there is progress, then we know we are striving for something more, something better, growing and evolving.

Today Stephanie made a small breakthrough in ballet class. Stephanie has been taking ballet since last fall, and at first I had to be right next to her for the entire class, doing all the stretches and poses. She would always be looking at me rather than the instructor for direction. She wouldn't let me leave her side and every time I tried to walk away, she would cry. Not all kids are like this, and in fact, at the time I was the only mom in the room with my child. Sure I felt a little self conscious and frustrated that my child was the only one who needed to have her mommy beside her, the only one not confident enough or independent enough to stay by herself. My only consolation was knowing that she was the youngest, and just turned 2, so this was very natural. Well, over the winter, we made some progress and she allowed me to stand by the wall where she could see me and run over numerous times during the class to give me a hug and a kiss, or take a whif of her blanket. Then she would smile and scurry back to the group. Well, today, I stood by the door and noticed that she wasn't looking at me for assurance or running over to me. I took this as a good sign, and dared to go out of the room and stand outside the glass door where she could still see me. She did look for me and waved. I waved back and gave her a thumbs up. She gave me a thumbs up right back with a big grin. She did wonderfully throughout the class; without coaching from me, raising her hand to volunteer to practice her pose, dancing around the room, and playing ring around the rosie. She was also the only girl that managed to stay focused throughout the class and not wander away from the instructor, running to the door to look for their moms.

I know this is but a minor thing in a world of more important things, but today I was able to see the progress a little girl had made. Yes, she is older now, and more developed, but I know that this progress in the way of independence and self assurance was more a result of patience and perseverence.

On another note, I made progress in my running, as I managed to complete a 7 km route with Diana.