May I Have This Dance?

I posted this on Facebook the other day, but I wanted to post it here, too. I post it here because it is a memory that I do not want to forget. It is one of those moments that a father will treasure forever.

Ella has been watching Disney’s The Princess and the Frog. She loves Princess Tiana. When Tiana and the prince kiss and change from frogs to humans once again, there is quite the celebration. In true Disney fashion, there is a big musical number at the end and they all start dancing.

Ella comes up to me and says, “You wanna dance with me, Daddy?!” No answer was necessary as I took her in my arms and did just that! The music that was playing was a jazzy Dixieland number, but that didn’t matter at all. I stood on my knees and held her and we danced. I hugged her, danced, twirled her around, and wiped away tears as she hugged me.

As we danced, I fished my phone out of my pocket to catch this …

I didn’t think I snapped this picture, but I did get it. I didn’t realize until after I went back to look at my phone. Originally, I thought I only caught one picture, this one:

I love them both! The first one I was probably fumbling around with the camera. The second one, I held the phone in my other hand and caught her swaying with me. THIS in itself was a wonderful moment!

As the music ended, I wiped tears away. She said, “Are you sad, Daddy?” I told her she made my heart very happy and they were happy tears. She looked at me and shook her head and said, “No. Daddy, you look sad.”

I only hope she knows just how happy she made me…. THAT is why I had to make sure this made it into a blog. Because, as I said on Facebook, just when I thought I have felt it all….she warms my heart in a way I have never experienced before!

Through tears, I promised her that I would dance with her whenever she wanted to.

Ella, my sweet baby girl, you are so special to me. Thank you for making our dance such a special one. I can’t wait to share more with you.