To be the Best

Tomorrow morning, my dancer girl takes the stage for the first time this year.  Her solos this year will once again challenge her and stretch her in new ways.  

As the competition season gets underway for her, there are things that I hope she remembers.  

To my beautiful and hardworking dancer, 

Dancing was never about winning.  When you walked into that studio at two-years-old, it was about moving and laughing and nailing new tricks.  It was about proving you can get on a stage and show your heart to everyone. 

Over the years, your hard work has brought you many accomplishments.  But accomplishments don’t build character. Defeat builds character, and you have had plenty of that over the years as well.

Tomorrow when you take the stage, don’t worry about the failures or the accomplishments.  Worry about the passion.

Also, I know it is a competition, but don’t let yourself fall into the comparison trap. You are only truly competing against yourself. It doesn’t matter where you place or how you score. What matters is the way you feel when you leave that stage tomorrow. If you have done your best and tried your hardest to show the world the talent God blessed you with, then you are successful.

Don’t be tempted to take part of jealousy or pettiness.  Remember that every dancer on that stage tomorrow is bringing their best. They may be better than you or they may struggle with technique that you have already mastered.  It doesn’t matter, because their best is good enough, too.  Whether they are better or worse than you today is none of your business. 

Remember to clap for others and cheer them on. Remember that at the end of the day, everyone is going home and tomorrow the dance studio will call again. Every dancer you competed against will show up and put in the work again. Just like you.

In a week, the medals and pins and trophies will already be forgotten on a shelf, but your integrity and character will not be forgotten. The dancer that struggled? She will remember your kind words. The dancer you hugged after the performance of her life that outscored you? She will remember that, too. 

Remember to build others up and remain humble. Don’t forget that your goal on that stage is to let others see the goodness of God’s gifts through you. Let others be brought to tears as they watch your heart pour out on that stage.

While I may dream a mother’s dream for you to stand in the spotlight tomorrow and be recognized for your hard work, the truth is that even without the stage and the spotlight, you still steal the show for me.

Above all, don’t ever forget that you are a dancer. A hardworking, determined, dedicated, kind, humble dancer.  Tomorrow, the Marley will call you back regardless of what the weekend brings, and you will pour your heart out again and again.  

And that is what being the best is all about.

Be grateful, water your own grass,

and drink coffee.