Mama drama

Okay, so here's my latest issue as a mother.  Lily has been asking to take Hip Hop classes since this Spring.  So I finally got my act together, found a class, and signed her up for a trial session which she attended tonight.  After the class, she said that she liked it.  She was most excited that she had a "protective shield" during the judging portion which granted her immunity from getting out.  (I think the game was kind of like a cross between Simon Says and America's Got Talent.  When you were judged out, you became a judge and eventually rotated back in.  Regardless, she liked it.) 

As usual, when I put her to bed tonight, I asked her about her day, and specifically about the class.  She again said that she liked it.  Then when I asked her if she would like to go back, she said no.  (Just a side note here that she also added if I really "cared" (wanted her to), she would go back.)  Ahhh!!  I couldn't believe it.  Just days ago, Hip Hop classes were her ultimate dream and passion, only to be replaced by the all-too-familiar lukewarm feelings.  My frustration is that Lily has now taken gymnastics, ballet, tap, tennis, softball, soccer, ice skating, swimming, cooking, acting, and now hip hop classes.  And at the end of each and every class, it is the same thing.  She likes them while she is in it; she just doesn't show any interest in going on.  She could easily take it or leave it.  I really wanted to expose her to as many types of classes as possible so she could find something that she truly likes to do without imposing any biases on her.  What do I do when she shows no bias toward anything?? 

Although I am glad that she has been exposed to all these classes, I don't want to keep rotating through them because she is now at an age where she could be building skills in a particular sport or activity but that won't happen if we do everything once or twice.  At the same time, it feels weird to randomly pick one of these activities for her.  Carl and I discussed this, and we think that part of the problem is that she does not immediately feel proficient in these activities so she quickly loses interest.  Academic endeavors seem to come very easily to her, and she may have become accustomed to that instant gratification.  For this very reason, we would like her to follow through with one of these extracurricular activities - to push her beyond her comfort zone and know the feeling of accomplishment that one feels after working hard at something that did not come easily.

Then again, she has taken so many classes now and seems to transition in with ease.  Ice skating was particularly difficult for her, but she saw it through to the end and completed the class successfully.  She just didn't seem particularly excited to go on.  I do give her lots of credit for trying all these new classes and going through the exploration process.  I really just thought that she would become passionate about one of them.  Is that an unreasonable expectation at six?  Maybe. 

So what to do now?  I truly don't know.  Knowing me, I'll probably have many more discussions with her on this topic, trying to discover her innermost passions while she will become increasingly annoyed with our conversations and disengage.  Oh so productive.

Lily did, however, remind me tonight that she has never taken horseback riding lessons....  And so it goes.