“I swear I sprayed the heck out of her bun and put in a thousand bobby-pins, why the heck won’t the thing stay in!”

“The music stopped and I have no idea why it’s taken 20 minutes to get it to work again. We can put a man on the moon, but they can’t get a Milli Vanilli song to play on iTunes.”

These are two of the texts that sealed the deal for me early in our budding relationship. I was in awe of this man who loved his girls so much that he took them to dance AND knew how to put in a bun. (Even though it fell out.) This was a guy I could be serious about.

Eric told me shortly after that he was becoming known as “Dance Dad” around the studio. “Hey, Dance Dad!” was how he was often greeted. (I imagined with a lilting voice and eyelash batting.) No doubt he was beloved by the instructors and other moms who saw that there was manly unicorn in their midst. This guy who loves his girls. And cares enough to learn about what they love too.

(I frequently teased him that I was going to loose him to a “Dance Mom” who knew how to tie pointe shoes and could bedazzle like a boss.)

Fast forward, and here we sit together for a full day of dance competition. One of many. This “Dance Dad” has spent countless hours shuffling girls to classes and competitions, packing costumes and accessories, and sending me tutorials on how to do the “correct” hair and makeup for events.

I tried to dance for a minute, but was terrible. And I know very little about this sport, even though technically I help oversee a National Championship Dance Team at my job. I don’t think “Dance Step” will be a title in my future anytime soon. However, hair and makeup has become my role. At least some of the time. And it is my FAVORITE! I blast Brittney Spears and Spice Girls and LOVE helping our oldest feel fancy. Makeup is a whole other story, since I’m still not entirely sure how to do my own. But my gosh it’s fun, even if my attempt at a cat-eye looks slightly more raccoon.

“Dance Dad” remains the hero of the day. Snacks, tablets and crafts packed and ready for the littlest. Maps and parking instructions sent to other family members in advance, and frequent texts with up to the moment updates from the auditorium letting us know if they are ahead or behind in the schedule. He worries about maximizing everyone else’s time while sacrificing his entire weekend to Rihanna and glitter.

So this is a shout out to you, “Dance Dad”. We love you. We love your support, your enthusiasm, we love that you have extra bobby-pins in your backpack, and most of all we love that you love your girls.

Originally posted at, Astepintherightdirection.live