In the blink of an eye, I found
myself once again seated in a small, hot auditorium in a small school in a
small Northwestern Ohio village. Lovely Bride and I anxiously awaiting the
cultural highlight of the season; our two daughters, Charlotte and Shannon,
were part of the spectacular number know to one and all as Baby Take A Bow.
The murmur of the crowd hushed as
the house lights dimmed. The curtain was illuminated by a single spot light.
Suddenly; it parted on a group of little girls, in their little leotards,
ballet shoes, and frilly skirts. The music came up, and the dance began.
It is interesting how a child can
take in hours of practice, and lessons, and show off their dance steps
seemingly endlessly, only to let the entire assembly know they have a little
bit of stage fright. As the jaunty little number came to the chorus “I’m
presenting you right now; Baby take a bow.”,
well…. Char proceeded to take a nice bow in time with the other girls.
And Shannon…well Shannon…. For the entire number she seemed to think the thing
to do was stand like a statue with her fingers in her mouth. As a result, the little number has since gone
into the family annals as “Shanny stand up straight.”
From the humble school setting, I am
transported to another school, in another state. Anxiously we await the debut
of our youngest daughter Aubrey’s dancing career. She was cast in a clever
number entitled “We Are Dancing Poodles”.
Having two older sisters the name of this cute song promptly became “Dancing
Noodles” , which caused no end to the laughter and giggles around our home.
The girls had these adorable little white
outfits with cute little Poodle ears head pieces. With gathering up children, costumes, shoes, etc , before dashing out the
door. In the confusion, the cute little Poodle ear head piece was left at
home. Aubrey was the only Poodle dancing
sans ears. She was a real trouper, doing
a fine job, all the while contributing a certain degree of comic relief.
Like a stone bouncing on a smooth
pond surface, my memory skips to Aubrey’s Ohio dance debut. She was cast as a
Sugar Plum Fairy, in a The Nutcracker meets Scrooge Christmas production. There is something about Scrooge observing
the Sugar Plums Fairies dancing about that lends a new perspective to Dickens’
classic. Again, she did a fine job, making myself and LB proud of her.
Which brings me to being in Virginia,
awaiting our grand-daughter’s performance debut in the Swan Dance 2013 Recital. The girls in her class sit together, little
heads hardly protruding above the full sized theater seats. A row of pink
little hair puffs, attached to perfectly coiffed hair-dos stand out in stark relief
to the institutional light blue seats.
Chattering little voices, smiling little faces; all in eager excitement
of their big show.
The time comes, she and her little
friends take the stage. Being amongst the youngest students; there is a
cuteness factor which steals the show.
While not in step with one another,
and bumping into one another, finally
culminating in a tug-of-war over which way to exit the stage; I look at my
Lovely Bride. Tears of joy and pride and Grandmotherly love dampen her cheeks.
I look to our son-in-law, tears of joy, pride, and fatherly love stream down
his cheeks.
I look to our daughter. Somehow that
gangly little Sugar Plum Fairy has become a beautiful young woman, wife and
mother. My thoughts went to her older sisters, who somehow transformed from unsure little girls
into beautiful, self-confident women.
Wives and mothers all, they are strong, gentle, loving people.
I cannot express the immense joy,
pride and love I felt as another little girl steps from her first recital onto
the path of becoming a fine woman.
She has her Grandma, her Mother, and her Aunties who have all set a fine example for her
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