The ballerina dances to different music.

With our son gone to college there are many things that are different. When our son left to return to college Monday afternoon, I was worried it would be difficult for our daughter to say goodbye again, but she headed out to the lake to ski with friends and I could tell the fog of missing her big brother was lifting. Monday night the Vols played UCLA and the game was broadcast for television. When our daughter returned home from a day at the lake she plopped down into her favourite chair and watched the game with us. It was exciting. We cheered our Vols on hoping for a victory. Our daughter stayed up until the final seconds. She enjoyed being with us. It was unusual for her to sit and watch an entire football game with us. Yesterday, she started writing an English paper due this week. From outburst of "listen to this and what to you think about this"....it became evident we were included in this homework project. With my husband attempting to listen to the Republican Convention our den was in a complete uproar. Suddenly the den filled with music booming from the once used for homework computer. Our sixteen year old daughter bounced up from her desk chair to start dancing. As I looked at her, she became 3 years old again to me. I could see her dancing on the stage in her first dance recital. Her eyes bouncing to the beat and her enormous hair falling around her daddy's given eyes. As she whirled and twirled around our den, her infectious joy illuminated every corner raising the temperature like the first, warm summer day. Her fingers snapping, toes tapping and arms swinging. The frustration of paper writing moved further away with each beat of music. My husband occasionally glanced up from his laptop, eyes dazed, wondering, "How can she be so happy?" I shake my head. Stirring the cobwebs of memories when our little girl danced in a bright yellow bird costume....now she has neon pink toenails, denim shorts, THS t-shirt....but her eyes still dance with anticipation...waiting for the next song in the dance of life.....making this symphony her own.