Picking up ballet as a twelve year old was heartbreaking. I wanted so badly to dance gracefully across the stage, but starting at that age put me years behind the other girls. I never even graduated to pointe shoes. I am determined that my girls will not suffer the same fate.
I am enrolling Bella in her first term of ballet next year, and I would hate for her to suffer any injuries that could derail her potentially bright future as a ballerina. Today after kinder I am taking her to get fitted for preventative orthotics in Cheltenham, which was recommended by one of the other parents at kinder so I think I will go there. I hope Bella is not too old to begin ballet, but it is only recently that she has started to follow instructions. It would be even better if I could enrol Arya as well, but Pat says that there is no point sending an eighteen month old to ballet. I guess she is not even wearing shoes full-time yet, so ballet slippers may be a little while away yet. I don’t even know if they make orthotics in toddler size.
While I am at the podiatrist this afternoon, perhaps it is finally time to get proactive about my own feet. My toenails are not in their best condition; I’ll admit that. For several months I have been dealing with two painful and unsightly ingrown toe nails, Cheltenham is close enough to home that I’ll be able to go back for any follow-up sessions. I suspect my husband has noticed the foot condition and accompanying odour, as there have been no foot massages of late. I’ll have to change that. It is just so hard to find time to look after myself these days, that I have not had time to deal with an ingrown toenail or two. It is easy for Pat, he just does his eight hours, but my work never ends. Besides, his work only involves cleaning and fixing teeth. My work involves cleaning everything that gets dirty and fixing anything that breaks. I do look forward to having a little more time to myself once Bella starts school next year.