Shall we dance?

Ever get an image etched into your mind, like a fingerprint in clay? You know, one of those moments in life that you will never, ever forget? I was reminded of one the other day. My oldest daughter, Rachel, was a cranky newborn. She was by far the fussiest one we've had. It seems as if the first two weeks of her life she cried more than anything else, no matter what we tried to do. We were having one of those nights where nothing seemed to work. Then Del got up, turned on a song by B. B. Winans called "All of Me" (a beautiful song, by the way), and turned the volume up very loud. Then he picked up our fussy baby, held her gently in his arms, and slowly danced with her in the living room... just a gently rocking, side to side dance. She calmed immediately. I sat back and watched with tears in my eyes how her little face was studied on his then her little arm reach up as if she was trying to touch him. And the thought occurred to me at that very moment, "I'll never forget this". My mind transported to the future, and I saw him walking a beautiful bride down the aisle arm in arm and thought how I would remember their very first dance. A few years later, Rachel became engrossed in Cinderella (much like every little girl). She was thrilled to receive a dress-up Cinderella, ball gown for Christmas one year. And she wanted to try it on right then of course. So she got dolled up complete with gloves, tiara, and "glass" slippers, and she went straight to her Daddy. She wanted to dance. And without music, she danced with her prince yet again. Steven Curtis Chapman came out with a popular song around that time about dancing with Cinderella (his daughter), and one line says, "...for all too soon, the clock will strike midnight, and she'll be gone". Well, all of this came to mind yesterday when he playfully picked her up in his arms yet again. Only this time, her 60-plus-pounds and tall frame filled his arms, and I wondered how many more dances with her daddy she would enjoy. Forgive my sentimental thoughts this morning, but I wanted to share my heart. Perhaps, some of my readers with little girls will think of this post and dance with their Cinderella tonight before the coach turns back into a pumpkin.