Dear DancinGirl:
Do you know why I call you DancinGirl when I write about you here?
It is because, from the moment I met you, now almost six years ago, you were dancing. At first, it was with hands and feet wriggling every which way, then it was the inimitable way you crawled – a sight to behold! – and eventually, as you learned to stand and walk and run, you danced and danced and danced.
Always, you danced.
I love the way you dance. There is a spirit in it that is uniquely you.
You have always moved through the world in a way that is all your own. It is one of the things I admire most about you.
As you start Kindergarten, and the long and wonderful journey that is your formal education, my greatest wish is that your creative, dancing spirit is nourished along the way.
There are so many ways that educational institutions and the culture of schooling dull the very spirit of creativity and imagination on which all real education depends. But there are also so many people who can and will help cultivate your dancing spirit.
On this, your first day of Kindergarten, may that dancing spirit be magnetic: may it attract others who recognize the beauty of your dancing and who can dance with you; and may the life of education and learning on which you are about to embark enrich the way you move through the world.
Love,
Dad
