This afternoon, I had to get my daughter to her toddler dance class. I had to drag my son along with me, because there was no one else to watch him. It was raining, and no one was in a good mood. I was feeling frustrated by an unpleasant pharmacy experience and grumbling about the traffic; my son was disappointed that he had to interrupt his fun day at home to go to the “boring” dance studio. Even my daughter was unhappy. She’d burst into tears at least four times in the half hour we’d been home since daycare ended. Once while putting on her dance clothes (even though she loves dance class), once when she couldn’t find her blankie, once when my son wasn’t immediately available to hug her, and one or two reasons I can’t even remember.

(Note #1: I should probably come up with nicknames for my son and daughter to make writing about them easier. Their initials both start with E so I guess I can’t use that. I’ll have to think of something if I continue this blogging streak.)

(Note #2: This is day 2 of a week-long blogging streak where I’m writing and posting almost unedited every night. See yesterday’s post, mostly about the way I spent my time.)

It was raining hard as we ran into the dance studio, barely on time. My son and I were sniping at each other. My daughter was crying again. She cried while I tied her tap shoes; I dried her tears with my fingertips. And then her dance teacher appeared, opening the door to the studio, inviting her in.

The crying stopped instantly. My daughter followed her classmates into the room with barely a backward glance for the mother to whom she’d been clinging a minute earlier. Her face was lit with excitement. Before long, my son and I were just as joy-filled, watching her through the window as she tapped her feet, waved her arms over her head, and rolled on the tumbling mat.

Dance solved everything. And it’s not hard to understand why. There’s nothing more freeing than feeling a rhythm and expressing yourself. It’s almost as good to watch other people dance, especially when it’s a roomful of happy girls in swirly skirts with tiny, shiny tap shoes!

Next time I feel a little blue, I’m going to put on a tune with a great beat (Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams) and dance my heart out with my kids.