Watching vs. Documenting

A friend of mine who has a son around Greta’s age gave me some really great advice recently. He said that over the years he realized that he spent so much time documenting his son’s soccer games, music recitals, etc., that he had never actually seen his son do anything. You know, in real time with his naked eyes.

So, the next time his son had an event, my friend left his iPhone and camera in his backpack and actually watched his son perform — no camera, no zoom, no video, no flash, just straight up watching — and it was magical. So, last Thursday at Greta’s annual ballet class parent viewing day I did the same thing.

As you can see, I still took a few pictures here and there, but, for the most part I simply watched my daughter dance and it was lovely. Seriously, I never knew what I was missing…Greta was amazing!

If you haven’t tried it yet for yourself, I highly recommend you do. Handing off the camera to someone else (or even just not taking pics or video) and actively watching your kid perform is pretty damn incredible. Try it!

Redemption!

Wow…what a difference a week makes! Last Monday, Greta couldn’t make it through a whole dance class, and this week at her “redo”, she couldn’t wait to get back in there. I don’t know if it was the gentle drilling I did at home — we watched the ballet and tap scenes from “An American In Paris” like, fifty times! — or the fact that her teacher let her start the class clutching her “Angelina Ballerina” DVD for support, but, for whatever reason, Greta really rocked it this week. Hooray!

And, hey, even if she didn’t rock it, I’d still be proud of her for getting back in there and facing her fears. Seriously, I learned my lesson last week…live and let live, baby. But, lucky for us, she loved the class, so, that is where you’ll find her and me and anyone else who’d like to come watch on Monday afternoons for the next three months.

Now, if anyone knows where I can score some cheap ballet and tap shoes in a toddler size 5 1/2-6, please, hook a brother up. That shit’s expensive!