Ms. Johanna

Paige takes ballet class every Tuesday afternoon at Broad Ripple Park. Her teacher is Ms. Johanna, who has been teaching ballet classes there since ... well, perhaps since ballet was invented, from what we can tell. To-date, we have received stories of "Oh, good Lord - Ms. Johanna was MY daughter's teacher!" dating back to a 17-year-old. We are sure there are more.

Ms. Johanna - rocking the side pony, leg warmers and leotard. Actually, sigh, looking better in a leotard than I probably ever have...

We always marvel at how Ms. Johanna is able to captivate a group of toddlers - getting them to hang on her every word and do exactly as she says without having to raise her voice (at least raise her voice loud enough that we can hear her through the glass. Or over our 'mom chatter.'). She has got it figured out, and she does NOT mess around.

After each class, Ms. Johanna leads the girls back out into the area where the parents are waiting. She always gives a brief recap of how each child behaved/performed in class that day. Paige's past summaries have included: "very, VERY energetic"; "where does she get all that energy?" and "she's like a little Mexican jumping bean" (if only you knew, Ms. Johanna).

So, today Ms. Johanna comes out and talks to Kelly (Paige's bestie's Mommy) first. Her review is stellar, and even brought joy to my heart. "Audrey (pronounced by Ms. Johanna as "Aw-der-ee") does a WONDERFUL job in ballet. She has really become a fantastic listener, and it seems as though she truly is enjoying the dancing and learning." Kelly proudly glowed and nodded.

Ms. Johanna moved to me next, and I awaited her review. "Hello, Miss Paige" she said as she smiled (I never doubt how much she truly loves our kids). She gave her an affectionate pat, turned to me and said "Miss Paige spit on me in class today."

Yep. Sounds about right.

Merci, Ms. Johanna.