“I Hope You Dance” was a hit song released by country singer Lee Ann Womack in 2000. It’s a song that holds a very special place in the heart of many, including Mary Bourne Roberts.
Mary and her beloved dad, Jim, would dance around the kitchen to that song when she was a little girl.
And dancing is exactly what Mary grew up to do. She majored in dance at the University of Alabama and currently teaches at a dance academy.
It was only fitting that, if Mary ever got married, “I Hope You Dance” would be the song she and her dad would use for their father-daughter dance. Jim made a promise to Mary and he intended on keeping it.
But in May 2017, Jim was diagnosed with an incurable brain cancer called glioblastoma. He entered hospice care in mid-December, just before Mary’s wedding on December 29 in Point Clear, Alabama. At first, it was unclear if he would be well enough to attend the wedding at all.
Jim, who is now wheelchair-bound, accompanied his daughter down the aisle while holding her hand. After the ceremony he retired to his hotel room to rest, hoping he’d get the strength to make it to the party that followed.
Lo and behold, this determined and doting dad made it just in time for the father-daughter dance you don’t want to miss.
Source : https://www.littlethings.com/dad-daughter-dance-promise/