Mrs. Larson
Once, several years ago I saw her at a shopping mall. I wanted to say something then, but I stopped myself, thinking "you can't just walk up to a person in a shopping mall and tell her that her influence has shaped your whole life." ...and saying "hi" just didn't seem to cut it.
So, instead I walked away and thought, "someday I'll tell her how no matter what I endured day in and day out of my insecure childhood, when I got to ballet practice, every bad thing melted away and I felt free. I'll tell her how her classes filled me with a sense of confidence and grace. And that sometimes even now, nearly 20 years later, I'll come home after a bad day and put on music and dance around in my apartment and I really will feel better."
And I wondered if she ever knew what it meant to the little girl who never came in first in anything to be asked to dance a lead in the spring recital, or to help the younger kids with their "turn-out." Did my mom ever tell her how I nearly fainted with excitement on the day the registration form came that had her hand-written note saying I was strong enough to start wearing point shoes? I know she meant the strength of my body, but I truly belive that those years I spent in her ballet class strengthened my soul. She believed in me.
Since those days I've drifted away from dancing. I've gone on to a career in the work world, but in my job I meet so many children with really difficult lives and I wonder if any of them have a Mrs. Larson.
So, instead I walked away and thought, "someday I'll tell her how no matter what I endured day in and day out of my insecure childhood, when I got to ballet practice, every bad thing melted away and I felt free. I'll tell her how her classes filled me with a sense of confidence and grace. And that sometimes even now, nearly 20 years later, I'll come home after a bad day and put on music and dance around in my apartment and I really will feel better."
And I wondered if she ever knew what it meant to the little girl who never came in first in anything to be asked to dance a lead in the spring recital, or to help the younger kids with their "turn-out." Did my mom ever tell her how I nearly fainted with excitement on the day the registration form came that had her hand-written note saying I was strong enough to start wearing point shoes? I know she meant the strength of my body, but I truly belive that those years I spent in her ballet class strengthened my soul. She believed in me.
Since those days I've drifted away from dancing. I've gone on to a career in the work world, but in my job I meet so many children with really difficult lives and I wonder if any of them have a Mrs. Larson.
posted by smurp at 6:13 PM
1 Comments:
That is a really beautiful post. You should mail it to Mrs. Larson. I feel like I have a few Mrs. Larsons: Mrs. Paquette, Mrs. Rigopolous, Mrs. Wolynski.
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