Last weekend started with my driving three and a half hours to pick up my mother in northern Minnesota on Thursday. I don't mind the drive, but it was tight because I needed to make sure I was back in time to get my kids to their final dress rehearsal. It all went very well and I was happy to have the task over. While my mom will be staying with us until Easter, it is nice that she also got to see the kids. Prior to the play Friday night, many of us had dinner with the rest of the cast and their families. It was nice to have my mom and very good friend Mary and her hubby John join mine to share the meal. They also had a chance to look at the artwork that was displayed for the guests in an art show setting. The boys enjoyed tapping--I think they will be taking it next year. They only did a partial tap routine this year. Because of the way the play was written, even those not enrolled in tap got to dance a little bit. It was an extra nice bonus to their theater class.
I was proud of the kids...Alex had been terrified of forgetting her lines or losing her place, was extra worried because she fell of the stage in the final dress rehearsal. It may not have been the hardest part or the most important, but she was terrified just the same--she pulled it off marvelously. I think for her, the greatest triumph may have been facing the fear. She is thinking about ways she can slowly get used to speaking because as a college student next year, she is already dreading the required speech class.
We also made sure we did something nice for their Director, Natalie Thomas. We didn't do anything spectacular, but we did make a framed scrapbook page of her students this year since she puts so many of them up in her studio from previous years--we just wanted her to know we appreciated her. She is a wonderful person. I really, really like her. I seriously doubt that she makes any money from what she does--I know she reinvests much of our small fees back into her studio and the kids. She includes all of them and really does well with them. I think anyone that can keep that many kids happy and organized should be nominated for sainthood--I struggle with just three!
