Author - Lorri

I am a wife and a mother.  These are my chosen professions and each title comes with a number of jobs.  Beyond the usual “mom taxi” and “chief cook and bottle washer,” I am many things.  Add to that the fact that I am homeschooling my children, it’s no wonder that my house is in the shape that it is.

On any given day I am preparing meals, changing diapers, and teaching school.  Some days you may find me administering spelling tests with my notebook balanced across the kitchen sink as I prepare lunch.  As my children grow older and their friendships become more complicated, I also find myself carefully guiding them through the world of interpersonal relationships.  I can correct both manners and math tests without skipping a beat.   I can fold laundry, talk on the phone and tie a shoe at the same time.

It hasn’t always been this way, of course.  Once upon a time I was just me.  My time was my own and I could do with it as I pleased.  If I wanted to do absolutely nothing on a Saturday, I could.  I could spend a Sunday afternoon watching football and reading the paper.  Nobody depended on me.

I got a little taste of being Just Me today.  I met a longtime friend in Old Town Alexandria.  We attempted to have lunch at a new restaurant, but 45 minutes after ordering, our food didn’t arrive.  We walked out.  But honestly, it wasn’t too bad because we were chatting the whole time.  We even talked to two English guys sitting next to us.  We found a different place to eat and talked the whole time.  Later we went to a local knitting shop and I bought too much yarn knit some and talked even more.

I was gone most of the day.  I relished the adult conversation and the chance to only  worry about myself.  I got to drink my soda without sharing. It was fun to remember the Me that used to be and still exists deep inside.

You know what else was fun?  Walking in the front door and having three little people run up to me calling, “Mama!”.  Because that’s Me, too, the Me that I am right now.  A Me that needs a break every so often so that I can return home, refreshed and renewed.

Our 2nd night’s performance went much better than the first.  We all had a better idea of the timing and pacing of the costume changes and how to best use our down time.  It was a huge learning experience for all of us!  Boo, Pumpkin Girl and I got to watch most of the show from backstage which was really cool!

The polka that was a disaster at most practices and especially at the previous performance was a resounding success last night!  They have never danced the polka better! Some of the other moms and I took charge and lined the dancers up in the lit hallway way offstage and walked them into the wings of the stage and made them stay in place.  The children were much more settled and confident when they took the stage in the dark and just danced their hearts out.  I don’t have any pictures from the polka because it moves way too fast.

The next dance for them was Los Machetes and it was just as good as it has always been.  Boo leads the boys out and then generally stays in one place, which makes for good pictures.  While he’s flashing his machetes, the girls are swirling around him with their beautiful skirts – much harder on the picture taking.  But here’s what we’ve got to share:

This one’s blurry, but that’s Pumpkin Girl in the turquoise dress. (click on it to see it better)

And there she goes, swirling away.

Here comes Boo, working those machetes and the sombrero.

One more of Boo.  That’s Pumpkin in the back, on the left.

The last dance was a merenge for carnival.  That’s another really fast moving one, not so good for the pictures.  Last night’s performance started an hour earlier, so it was only 9 pm when they took the stage for that last dance, instead of 10 pm like the night before.  It really made a difference in their energy levels – and you could tell they all had fun.

So now we’re done with any major activities for a while.  We can settle down and get some school done and enjoy the ride.

We made to the first folklorico performance last night!  Our stomachs had all settled down, even though our appetites had not fully returned.  Boo and Pumpkin Girl played with their friends in the morning and were more than ready to dance in the evening.

Our entire theater/dance experience to this point has been Pumpkin’s dance recital last year.  She showed up, dressed and ready, sat on the floor in front of the stage with all the dancers, took the stage when her group was called, did her thing, and sat down.  It was wonderful in it’s simplicity.

This weekend’s performances are significantly more complicated.  Three different dances times two dancers equals six costumes, one set of props and three hair changes.   And one stage mom to rule them all.

It was quite an experience.

The dance that I suspected would be a disaster was exactly that.  But the other dances were great.  Boo totally rocked the machetes and Pumpkin was beautiful in her dress.   The crowd cheered louder for the boys at the curtain call than for anyone else.

I don’t have any pictures, unfortunately.  Philip will be in the audience tonight, so hopefully he can get some.

The costumes are pressed and waiting in the hallway.

But the dancers (and their parents) have the stomach flu.  We already missed last night’s dress rehearsal, so we are just waiting and praying that by Friday afternoon we’ll be feeling better.   I think Pumpkin Girl will make it, Boo is still iffy at this point.

We spent the day at the White House.  No, really, we did. Check it out.  I’ve got pictures to prove it, but I’m exhausted, so I’ll share tomorrow.