We didn't see it happen, but we can easily picture it happening. Imagine this:
In the frenzy of changing your adorable three year old daughter out of her leotard and tights and into her street clothes, gathering her dance bag, and holding her hand on the way to the car, tragedy strikes. With a mind of it's own, her ballet shoe leaps out of her little pink dance bag and straight into the parking lot. You don't notice. She doesn't notice. The two of you drive off into the distance to enjoy an entire week of excitement before returning to the studio for your weekly class.
This is a true story of a tragic event that happened right here at Atlanta Dance Central. Luckily, in the spirit of the catch the light blog, this story has a positive ending. Here's where we come in:
One sunny afternoon a middle aged man in jeans entered the studio carrying a tiny pink ballet slipper. He brought it to the front desk and with and with a smile he said,
“I found this in the parking lot.”
We, of course, thanked him and promised to find the shoe's owner. He looked down at the shoe and said, “I can't imagine how upset the owner of this shoe would be if they came to dance and couldn't find it.” It was such a sweet thought that really touched our hearts because we knew exactly what he was talking about.
Just as easily as we can picture the shoe being dropped in the parking lot, we can picture the panic the next week if the shoe hadn't been found. We can picture the search through the dance bag, the upset look on that three year old's face, the frustration that another pair would have to be purchased. Thankfully, our story didn't have to end that way.
Our story got to end with our front desk staff returning the shoe to a thankful mom before it was realized that the shoe was missing. No tears, no frustration, just smiles before the next magical dance class.
To the middle aged man in jeans who graced our presence after finding the tiny slipper in the parking lot: Thank you. Not only for picking it up and returning it to us, but also for knowing that if you had walked by it and driven away the situation may not have ended as happily as it did. You're our hero!