This week was a big one for my nine-year-old. She auditioned for the spring ballet at her dance studio and got in. This may not seem like an amazing feat, but for her it was monumental.

Two years ago, she auditioned for the spring performance and didn’t make it. It was her first major rejection in life and she took it hard. What a tough thing it is to watch your child experience heartache in any form. She thought the pain would never end.

But I helped her pick herself back up, congratulate those that did make it, and carry on. Over time, the pain receded. She danced in the studio’s production of the Nutcracker the next two years but refused to audition for the spring show. Then, last month, she informed me she was ready to try again.

“You know you may not make it,” I told her. “I want you to be prepared for that.”

“I know, Mom,” she said. “I still want to try. I understand. It’s okay.”

In that moment, I saw the wisdom and the perspective she gained from that moment two years ago. She has carried it with her, celebrating her victories with extra fervor, and facing challenges with an attitude beyond her years. She also has a bigger heart for those who seem left out or hurting. What a benefit to a hard life lesson.

As a society, we are, for the most part, terrified to watch our children fail. Now, as the millennials come of age, we see the effects of the trophy for all, helicopter parenting mentality. Corporations struggle to keep employees, and reality is much harder to face for many young professionals. For this reason, I am thankful for a failure at the tender age of seven for my oldest daughter. It has already shaped her in a positive way.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared to send her to auditions last weekend. But I knew I had to let her go. 

Of course, this particular tale has a happy ending. She worked hard, she gave it a shot, and she got in. This entire week, she’s been on cloud nine. She just keeps saying, “I can’t believe I got in!”

But that won’t always be the case. Now, it’s the spring ballet. Fast forward another 10 years and it’s college. And beyond. She will encounter rejection again. Her heart will hurt. But in those moments I hope she will reach back to her seven-year-old self and remember that she carried on. And two years later, her nine-year-old self made it.

Are you afraid of rejection? Scared to let your kids fail? I say don’t be. Yes, there may be heartache. But there may not be. And even if there is, there are lessons in the pain that can shape a person in lasting ways – ways that lead to love, acceptance, and also to determination and success.

The day after her acceptance letter, I had the opportunity to watch her in one of her ballet classes. She looked so much older than she seems at home, snuggled next to me on the couch. Her legs are longer, her body is stronger. While in class,  I captured this photo of her. Here she’s flying high.

I plan to hold onto this photo for the years ahead, for when she fails or falls. For when she’s hurting. I will remind her that there will be moments of rejection, moments of pain. But there will also be moments of great joy. Moments when she will feel she could just float on air. And I’ll remind her that one time, on a Tuesday in dance class at the age of nine, I saw her do it.