I Hope You Keep Dancing

Raine turned four this past weekend. The night before her birthday, she attended a Valentine's Day Father-Daughter dance at the local Y. We picked out a 'Cinderella' gown because like so many 3 and 4 year old American girls, she is into the princess thing. She has the dolls, the tiara, the wand, the books, etc. And for this dance, she got the hair pressed and curled for the first time. The amazing thing to me is that with her hair down and all dressed up, she looks so much like a picture of my mother when she was a girl. It's an eerie feeling, looking at your granddaughter and seeing your mother.

Check her out.
Raine and the Macarena
So happy, uninhibited, not a care in the world.

A friend of mine watched the video and said it reminded her of a favorite song, sung by Lee AnnWomack. I Hope You Dance. I like that song too and wished the same for my daughter.   As little girls, we awaken each day with "that sense of wonder," a lack of editing, a kind of confidence that can't even be called confidence because it comes before we have the self awareness to be confident or not. It's just pure self.

I hope we all still dance like a four-year-old out on a date with her Daddy. I hope we all still dance.

I Hope You Dance
Songwriters: Sanders, Mark D.; Sillers, Tia;

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger.
May you never take one single breath for granted.
God forbid love ever leave you empty-handed

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean.
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens.
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance.
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance--

I hope you dance, I hope you dance!


I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance.
Never settle for the path of least resistance.
Living might mean taking chances but they're worth taking.
Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth making.
Don't let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter.
When you come close to selling out reconsider.
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance.
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance--


I hope you dance, I hope you dance,
I hope you dance!