a duck and a bear

One thing I learned during the girls' recital week is that I am not a dance mom. I didn't enjoy the chaos, I was sad about how tired and grumpy the girls were (seriously crossed my mind for a split second to give them each a good swig of Mountain Dew just to get through it all), and I felt frustrated that hundreds of dollars and nine month's worth of classes earned me about one minute of seeing my kids on stage. (We aren't allowed to watch them during their weekly classes, so the parent observation day in December and the recital in April are the only 2 times we get to see our children dance). That said, the girls love going to their dance classes, and before each performance this week (two full dress rehearsals, and four actual performances) I gave them the choice of whether to go and they always said yes. So I set aside my disdain, and made it all about them. And even though it was just for a minute, seeing them on stage was a thrill. They were beautiful. Olive sang her heart out, and actually seemed to see it more as a voice performance than a dance performance. She sang at the top of her lungs, and right on key - "Me and my teddy bear!" - and threw in a dance move when she felt like it. Lucy, who has been happily showing us her routine a bunch over the past few months and who seems to be totally in her element in the dance arena, was petrified. Just so so scared. The stage fright completely overcame her for the Friday night show, and she wouldn't even go out on stage. We were in the audience for the Saturday afternoon show, and when her group came onto the stage she was quietly crying. When it was time to quack and do her duckie dance, though, she obliged albeit through giant alligator tears. The whole audience was awwwwing (it was quite possibly the cutest/heartbreakingest thing you could ever imagine). And I sat there bawling (Chris cried too) because I just wanted to hold my baby, but also super duper proud of how brave she was even though she was so scared. They are absolute dolls, and I adore them. And even though I'm not a dance mom, I'll support the heck out of them doing this for as long as they want to. 

The waiting area was CHAOS.

Lucy waiting to go on stage.

Olive waiting to go on stage.

Lucy & Caitlin

Olive & Caitlin

recital spoils