On my toes in Panama.

When I started ballet in January, I kind of thought I'd do it for just a couple of months. But after a couple of months, things started coming together, and I was hooked.

It hasn't gotten easier, per se, because the better you get the harder you can work, and there's always room to improve each step, each exercise. But I just love it. Like I typed about before, each class is a meditation in itself.  I've been going three times a week since February, and I've noticed some changes in my legs -- the way they look, feel, and move. It's much easier now to hold my turnout, and though I went through a phase where it was bothering my hip a bit, my teacher said that's normal and I've gotten past it for the most part.

The little girls in my class are pretty delightful. At first, I thought they thought I was weird (yes, that's a 31-year-old feeling oddly intimidated by a small pack of 10-year-olds), but it turns out they're kind of impressed by how high I can jump, and how coordinated I am. (I can't bend backward like they can, though. Not even close.)

I started out barefoot, since I didn't really intend to continue with the classes, but on our trip to the States I picked out my very own pair of ballet shoes, and it's nice to have them. They're already filthy and well-loved.

Since I spent a childhood wishing I could dance, something my teacher said to me a couple of months ago really meant a lot. She used to dance for the Russian and Canadian national ballets, and she has been teaching dancers -- and priming them to be professionals -- for years.

It was just me in class that day, and I had really improved. She remarked on how quickly I've learned, and said, a bit regretfully, that it was a shame I hadn't learned to dance as a kid, because if I had, I would almost certainly be a professional dancer today. (Or, I would have been one. At this point I suppose I'd be a bit past my tip-toe prime.)

Not to get all big-headed on you. I can see myself in the mirror during class. It's nothing to write home about, unless maybe you saw me on the first day and could see how far I've come. But still, her words went straight to the heart of the little girl in me who wanted to be a ballerina.