Break from Ballet

So, since we've been exploring the idea of private school, and especially since her day to visit there, I feel like Evie's been a lot lighter and happier.  It's like we released the valve on a pressure cooker and she can see that there's a relief coming from the environment she has to be in every day with the public school.  And she's also now 3 weeks into rehearsal for Peter Pan at the community theatre, and she's loving that experience.  So it feels like all of a sudden, Evie's coming into her own and identifying who she is and what she needs (which is exactly what she should be doing in this stage of early adolescence).  And I'm just so excited to be part of her continuing to learn about herself.

Continuing in that vein, Evie made a big decision this week to take a break from ballet.  She's been experiencing more and more anxiety around ballet as the expectations are greater and the stratifying between the levels becomes more and and more important and obvious.  The classes are mixed between levels, but Evie perceives the girls in the higher level to be exclusionary of the lower level girls which creates an environment that makes her feel inadequate.  And I think what I've been saying to her all along is sinking in now: life is too short for us to spend time and money doing things that don't make us happy.  Her extracurriculars should make her excited, not stressed, at least for the most part.  Stress and expectations are a part of most experiences in life, but if she's coming away from a voluntary experience feeling down or bad about herself, then it's time to cut that out.  

So as we were having lunch at Kathy and Rickie's house before Peter Pan rehearsal this past Sunday, Evie said it was time to stop ballet for now.  She said, more or less, "I just like doing theatre better because once you're in the show, you're an important part and there's no competition."  So we gave a toast to finding yourself and your people, and to finding activities that resonate the most with you.

Speaking of which, Evie has always been a softie for animals and so she has been helping me take care of Shelley's dog Poppy.  Poppy is pretty boisterous and likes to jump, but Evie handles her like a pro and wore her out proper on Monday by playing fetch, chase, and general playtime.