{"id":254932,"date":"2013-09-25T05:41:51","date_gmt":"2013-09-25T05:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2013\/09\/25\/rj4gui4r-gardenofroses24\/"},"modified":"2018-10-06T16:10:41","modified_gmt":"2018-10-06T16:10:41","slug":"rj4gui4r-gardenofroses24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2013\/09\/25\/rj4gui4r-gardenofroses24\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-254932 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2013\/09\/25\/rj4gui4r-gardenofroses24\/attachment\/254933\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/tumblr_mskfclsRoq1rnsvk1o1_1280-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/tumblr_mskfclsRoq1rnsvk1o1_1280-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/tumblr_mskfclsRoq1rnsvk1o1_1280-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/tumblr_mskfclsRoq1rnsvk1o1_1280-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/tumblr_mskfclsRoq1rnsvk1o1_1280.jpg 720w\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2013\/09\/25\/rj4gui4r-gardenofroses24\/attachment\/254934\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/tumblr_mskfclsRoq1rnsvk1o2_640-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/tumblr_mskfclsRoq1rnsvk1o2_640-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/tumblr_mskfclsRoq1rnsvk1o2_640-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/tumblr_mskfclsRoq1rnsvk1o2_640-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/tumblr_mskfclsRoq1rnsvk1o2_640.jpg 612w\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><a class=\"tumblr_blog\" href=\"http:\/\/rj4gui4r.tumblr.com\/post\/61628939587\/gardenofroses24-itsoktobegay101-what-i-wont\" target=\"_blank\">rj4gui4r<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><a class=\"tumblr_blog\" href=\"http:\/\/gardenofroses24.tumblr.com\/post\/61221422937\/itsoktobegay101-what-i-wont-tell-you-about-my\" target=\"_blank\">gardenofroses24<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><a class=\"tumblr_blog\" href=\"http:\/\/itsoktobegay101.tumblr.com\/post\/60199720958\/what-i-wont-tell-you-about-my-ballet-dancing-son\" target=\"_blank\">itsoktobegay101<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h1 class=\"title\"><em><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/deeperstory.com\/what-i-wont-tell-you-about-my-ballet-dancing-son\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" title=\"What I Wont Tell You About My Ballet Dancing Son\" target=\"_blank\">What I Won\u2019t Tell You About My Ballet Dancing Son<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/h1>\n<p><em><strong>by Ashleigh Baker<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry\" id=\"content-13937\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<p>When you ask him about sports, he\u2019ll raise his blue eyes to mine and press his lips together. I\u2019ll nod to assure him it\u2019s safe, he\u2019s okay, this isn\u2019t the school lunch table where the kids can taunt.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cI dance,\u201d he\u2019ll say. \u201cBallet.<\/strong>\u00a0This year I\u2019m doing hip hop and tap and jazz, too, but ballet is my favorite.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Try as you might, progressive thinker that you are, modern and open-minded for all the decades you carry, your eyebrows will move up a quarter of an inch.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>Oh!<\/em>\u201d You\u2019ll tilt your head and hopefully you\u2019ll smile. For a heartbeat you\u2019ll spin through a lexicon of words and phrases, seeking the correct positive acknowledgment.<\/p>\n<p>And I\u2019ll hold my breath as your eyes meet mine over his shaggy blonde head of hair, a wordless prayer as we wait for the moment of reaction. What does one say to a seven year old boy who is built for carrying a football but wears ballet shoes?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Will you be the one who nods, intrigued, silently assuming his parents must be dancers, or that we\u2019ve exploited our child in an attempt at our own anti-sexism statement?<\/p>\n<p>Or perhaps you\u2019ll be the one who asks incredulously what his dad thinks of him doing ballet, because what dad would be okay with a son who\u00a0<em>dances?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Maybe you\u2019re the family friend who repeatedly assures him it\u2019s acceptable to enjoy ballet \u2013 after all, NFL players have been known to take a few ballet lessons it will be valuable when he plays real sports in a few years.<\/p>\n<p>What if you\u2019re the man who scoffs in the face of my little boy\u2019s uncle, declaring loudly that you would \u201cbeat that boy\u2019s ass\u201d to cure him of whatever it is that makes him want to dance?<\/p>\n<p>You could be the distant relative who eyes him curiously at gatherings, making frequent mention of the need for masculinity and \u201cboyish\u201d pursuits, taking care he doesn\u2019t accidentally grab the pink piece of cake because, \u201c<em>What are you, a girl?!<\/em>\u201d followed by a quick inhale and, \u201c<em>So Troy, are you still doing that ballet thing? How\u2019s that working for you? You have any girlfriends there yet?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>You might even be the one who glances over your shoulder, catching my eye knowingly, suggesting in veiled terms that we be \u201cconcerned\u201d about our seven year old\u2019s sexuality.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>So I catch your eye when you ask him about baseball and soccer, not because I don\u2019t want you to be interested or I\u2019m expecting your reaction to be as nonchalant as if he had said he\u2019s the star of the peewee basketball team. I bore my eyes into yours, conveying with a look my son\u2019s intuitive nature and telling you with silence that I\u2019m not going to answer those questions.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>Instead, I\u2019ll tell you about a baby boy who felt music in his soul before he could crawl,<\/strong>grooving to the beat of push-button toys in the church nursery and spawning jokes about his young parents\u2019 need to curb the tendency if he was to become a \u201cgood Baptist baby.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll tell you about a toddler spinning on his head on the living room carpet, the grocery store linoleum, the church foyer tile, eliciting amused comments from strangers about his wannabe break dancing. I\u2019ll tell you of his unquenchable need to move in the presence of rhythm and an obvious inborn ability to\u00a0<em>feel<\/em>\u00a0music.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll revisit the memory of him bounding in the front door on a December afternoon, tossing his kindergarten backpack and, wild eyed, telling us of the music class in which people leaped and twirled to music, strong men jumped high in the air, danced on their toes and lifted ballerinas across the stage. He wore black sweat pants and a white undershirt every day of Christmas break that year, asked Santa for black ballet shoes, watched dozens of online videos of boys\u2019 ballet techniques and by Christmas day had memorized every note and crescendo of the entire Nutcracker Suite.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll laugh and sigh and tell you of his own carefully choreographed dances to specific pieces by Beethoven, Taylor Swift and Mumford &amp; Sons.<\/p>\n<p>I can show you a clip from his first recital, when he was awarded an unsolicited, unexpected dance scholarship and hadn\u2019t a clue what it meant as he smiled and accepted the sheet of paper. I\u2019ll try to keep from beaming, as parents do, and will refrain from repeating every accolade and declaration of talent his instructors have bestowed upon him.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll tell you of the way he glows after a six hour practice, the finesse with which he glides across the floor, the way his very soul leaps from his eyes when he manages a toe touch or perfects a difficult series of steps. I\u2019ll show you a boy who carries himself with grace in manner and spirit, who is strong in character and skill, who is learning of compassion and team effort and how to appreciate the brilliance of life\u2019s beauty.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>When you ask my dancing son about this passion he carries and you catch my eye, slightly uncertain how to proceed, I won\u2019t try to convince you this was all his idea or give ten examples of his father\u2019s unwavering pride or waste breath assuring you that my second grader isn\u2019t gay.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll simply tell you what he said to us after his first Nutcracker performance last winter:<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>Mama, it feels like my heart is flying when I\u2019m dancing. I think God made ballet because he knew I\u2019d love it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>That last line. Wow. How powerful.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Right in the feels<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>My brother did ballet for a couple of years and really enjoyed it, but then we moved cross country and the local dance studio wouldn&rsquo;t take boys so he never did it again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>rj4gui4r: gardenofroses24: itsoktobegay101: What I Won\u2019t Tell You About My Ballet Dancing Son by Ashleigh Baker When you ask him about sports, he\u2019ll raise his blue eyes to mine and press his lips together. I\u2019ll nod to assure him it\u2019s safe, he\u2019s okay, this isn\u2019t the school lunch table where the kids can taunt. \u201cI &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2013\/09\/25\/rj4gui4r-gardenofroses24\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254932"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254932"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254935,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254932\/revisions\/254935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}