happy mom moment

When my daughter is on the dance floor, I have eyes only for her. Graceful and beautiful, magnificent and powerful - her dance takes my breath away.

Yesterday my daughter participated in the Estonian Championship in Standard dances. My hubby, my youngest daughter, my sis and I had come to support her.  The semi-final of Youth 2 had 10 couples. Since she has danced with her new partner only for seven months, we didn't know what to expect. We rejoiced when they got to the finals.

Three hours to wait before the finals. We watched other semi-finals: the little kids, juniors, seniors, youth, adults. Slow waltz, tango, Vienna waltz, foxtrot, quickstep. Again, and again and again. The music is loud, mixed with the clapping and cheering. The light and the colors, the movement can make the head spin. Sitting for hours on a bench during a dance competition tests patience and tortures the body. The whole event is a mixture of high positive emotions and the wish to escape.

When my daughter was back on the dance floor with five other couples for the five final dances, every fiber of my body is filled with hope and worry and admiration. Mostly admiration. Dance is a sport. Hours and hours of practice, sweat and pain, to leave an impression of flying to the music. Five short dances doesn't seem like much, but it takes a lot of strength and stamina. And when the dances are over, the couples smile and bow, walk off the floor, reach for the water bottles, wipe sweat from their necks and breathe deeply. They have done their best and now all is left is to wait for the results.

When all finals are over, everyone awaits for the award ceremony.
The six finalist couples march to the floor. The hosts start announcing the results from the sixth place.
I can feel my heart pounding, I am ready for her to be the sixth but hope for better. The sixth place was not her, the fifth place was not her. My heart speeds up and smile spreads. She has already done way better than she hoped for. Fourth place. Not her. Third place - her name is announced. She and her partner beam with happiness.
My daughter and her partner won bronze medals in Estonian Championship U21 group for Standard Dances. My heart waltzes.

With a different partner she got a fourth place two years ago, and then they won the championship in 10-dances. They danced for one more year and then her partner decided to stop dancing Standard and focus on Latin only. For more than half a year my daughter was without partner. She could have stopped. She did not give up. She did not stop dancing. My daughter has impressed me over and over with her determination and dedication.