Princess for a Moment

This picture may not look like a lot to you, but it's all we have of a very special moment for Bethelle.

Last March, my parents and I took my kids and some of their cousins to see the traveling BYU dance team, The Young Ambassadors.  I can remember seeing them and/or their close relative, the BYU ballroom team, as a child and being filled with wonder.  I wanted to do that.  I wanted to grow up to be just like them.  I was going to be a ballroom dancer.

Well, that didn't exactly pan out.  Physics and ballroom majors have very few overlapping classes.  But what was really important in that memory was the strength of the emotion in the moment.  When my mom told me that the Young Ambassadors were coming through, I was eager to take the kids.

A few minutes before the show began, my mom had taken most of the kids on a pre-emptive trip to the bathroom.  Bethelle and I remained in our seats.  As we waited, Shana, the girl in the above picture who Bethelle is hugging, came by and asked if Bethelle would like to be in the show.  The second song.  Bethelle loves attention and the limelight, so she was happy to help.

It was a magical moment.  I took Bethelle backstage and then got to watch the number from my seat.  Bethelle came out with a young couple, her "parents."  They were reading a story to her (singing, actually) about a princess and a castle and a rescue and dragons and danger and singing trees and I don't know what else.  As they sang, the story came to life around them through props, dancers, and costumes.  Bethelle was walked through it all as the princess.  The magical players swirled and paraded around her, lifted her, sang to her, and placed a sparkling tiara on her head.  You should have seen her. She was perfect.  Her face was all lit up as she looked at each new character.  She really interacted with the scene and added just the right touch to the song.  Ahhhh.  Alas, no recording was allowed.  All we have is this little picture from after the show, when the dancers came out in the crowd to greet everyone.

If Bethelle's existence wasn't already so magical, this could've been the best moment of her life.  Poor thing, she seems to have moment after fantastic moment.  But this one ranks pretty high on her list of perfect nights.