*
These have been some tough times for Shy these past few weeks and we are not sure why. We have been to visit her brother in Portland, Oregon, we have my mother (nanny) visiting now until the end of August. We are going to visit her sisters and nephew in Maine this weekend, and we have other cousins coming to visit a couple of times in the next few weeks.
thanks to a great suggestion, we have been skyping more frequently with her brothers and sisters as well, butt Shy has been good sometimes, and almost out of control on other occasions. She just doesn't seem to be very happy. She won't even kiss her nanny good-night when she goes to bed. Not even a little hug. I am not sure why that is. She has been busy with swimming, cheering camp, soccer camp, this week is hip-hop camp. She has been playing basketball and going to her friends house next door and across the street.
Most of the time she seems to be fine, but at other times, she just doesn't want to listen. She doesn't want to do as she is told, and she can get downright belligerent. It is really out of character, and when she does get that way, it just seems to escalate and escalate out of control.
Now, having said that, yesterday, maybe there was an excuse. We took her to see Ice Age 3 in 3D. It was a great movie and we all enjoyed it except for Shyanne. Fairly early in the movie, the daddy mammoth is separated from his wife and daughter. At that point, Shyanne did not like the movie anymore and wanted to leave. We eventually got her to pay attention again and of course she helped "root" for the daddy to find his way back home. I won't ruin the ending for anyone, but it is a movie made for kids so you can probably figure out the ending.
It was scary for her though, and I appreciate that. I will give her that yesterday was a bad day after the movie because of that. But I can't make any excuse for the way things have been the last few weeks in general. I am getting to the point where I can't wait until she starts school again. Of course I don't know that will solve the problem, but I am thinking it will at least give her mother a break for half of the day.
Thankfully, there is a therapist appointment tomorrow. Hopefully she can shed some light on this for us.
*
Monday, July 30, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
POOOOOOOF!!! It's gone.
*
There are many things we do for our children when they are growing up. A lot of them we find difficult, cumbersome, and even distasteful. But none of them lasts forever.
There is the little child that relies on you to help her get dressed. That needs help tying her shoes. That wants you to get her clothes down from the hanger. Then without even noticing, she no longer requires that. She is able to change the channel on the TV herself. She can get her own clothes, or cut some of her own foods. All of a sudden those moments of wanting to eat and having to cut food instead, or those moments when you are reading the paper and she wants a channel change, are gone.....POOOOF. Never to happen again.
We don't give it much thought as the moments come and go almost in the blink of an eye. We don't even realize they are gone until some time after they are gone. The first time that a child is able to go to the refrigerator get out the juice and pour her own glass to drink initially is given the old "good for you!" when she tells you what she did, but it takes a while to sink in that the meaning of the "good for you" is that you will never have to perform that task again. POOOOOF, it's gone.
Theses times come and go so innocuously that it is hard to pinpoint all of them. They just come and go. Pushing on a bicycle while holding it steady as a young one tries to learn how to ride, and you are panting and out of breath. All of a sudden, they get it. They ride themselves. They can balance. POOOOOF, it's gone.
Right now we have to drive Shyanne everywhere she wants to go. While most times we don't mind, and we expect to be doing it, there are occasions when we would rather be doing something else. It may seem like 10 years is a long time before she can get her license, but when it comes, those drives in the car when we are together alone and can talk about anything we want to talk about will be over. POOOOOF, it's gone.
It won't be long after that she will be out on her own. Maybe starting a family of her own and living her own life. While this may seem like a little early to be talking about since Shy is just coming up on her 7th birthday, trust me it isn't. They grow up so quickly. I have three other children....34, 32, and almost 30. It seems like just yesterday DW and I were discussing what names to pick out. They came, we did all of those things I mentioned like riding bikes, tying shoes, chauffeuring, and pouring drinks for them and then POOOOOF, it was gone.
I have no intention of complaining about anything Shyanne asks. I know it will be gone all too soon. I write this to all of you out there who may be regretting today's activity of driving to camp, or taking to a Doctor's appointment or reading a book, or cleaning a room.... Enjoy it. It won't be long before it is all just a distant memory and you will be wondering where the time went.....POOOOOOF!!!!
*
There are many things we do for our children when they are growing up. A lot of them we find difficult, cumbersome, and even distasteful. But none of them lasts forever.
There is the little child that relies on you to help her get dressed. That needs help tying her shoes. That wants you to get her clothes down from the hanger. Then without even noticing, she no longer requires that. She is able to change the channel on the TV herself. She can get her own clothes, or cut some of her own foods. All of a sudden those moments of wanting to eat and having to cut food instead, or those moments when you are reading the paper and she wants a channel change, are gone.....POOOOF. Never to happen again.
We don't give it much thought as the moments come and go almost in the blink of an eye. We don't even realize they are gone until some time after they are gone. The first time that a child is able to go to the refrigerator get out the juice and pour her own glass to drink initially is given the old "good for you!" when she tells you what she did, but it takes a while to sink in that the meaning of the "good for you" is that you will never have to perform that task again. POOOOOF, it's gone.
Theses times come and go so innocuously that it is hard to pinpoint all of them. They just come and go. Pushing on a bicycle while holding it steady as a young one tries to learn how to ride, and you are panting and out of breath. All of a sudden, they get it. They ride themselves. They can balance. POOOOOF, it's gone.
Right now we have to drive Shyanne everywhere she wants to go. While most times we don't mind, and we expect to be doing it, there are occasions when we would rather be doing something else. It may seem like 10 years is a long time before she can get her license, but when it comes, those drives in the car when we are together alone and can talk about anything we want to talk about will be over. POOOOOF, it's gone.
It won't be long after that she will be out on her own. Maybe starting a family of her own and living her own life. While this may seem like a little early to be talking about since Shy is just coming up on her 7th birthday, trust me it isn't. They grow up so quickly. I have three other children....34, 32, and almost 30. It seems like just yesterday DW and I were discussing what names to pick out. They came, we did all of those things I mentioned like riding bikes, tying shoes, chauffeuring, and pouring drinks for them and then POOOOOF, it was gone.
I have no intention of complaining about anything Shyanne asks. I know it will be gone all too soon. I write this to all of you out there who may be regretting today's activity of driving to camp, or taking to a Doctor's appointment or reading a book, or cleaning a room.... Enjoy it. It won't be long before it is all just a distant memory and you will be wondering where the time went.....POOOOOOF!!!!
*
Friday, July 20, 2012
Communications
*
So Wednesday night Shy Skyped with Amy for a very short time. On the other hand, when Barry called and wanted to talk to her on the phone, she said no.
Then last night Barry called and wanted to Skype with Shy but she didn't want to and she didn't want to talk to him on the phone either. I know Amy reads this blog and I am sure she took that last suggestion about Skyping and thought it was a good idea. I agree. It is a good idea. Apparently only when shy is in the mood though and quite frankly, I can't figure her out.
Sometimes, she will answer the phone and talk to whoever is on the other end for quite a while. Sometimes she will answer the phone just to see who it is and then hands the phone to either DW or me. Sometimes she won't go near the phone and when someone asks for her, she has no interest in talking. Very hard to figure out which "phone shyanne" is going to be place at a given time.
I assume when she gets a little bit older and her friends are calling/texting/whatever they will be doing 10 years from now, she will be responding to them more often than I care to know about. Now children at this age are always finicky about talking on the phone, and I guess now skyping as well. There have actually been times when Shyanne has wanted to Skype and the person she wants to skype with is not available. She can have a major meltdown over that. Of course she doesn't remember that when people want to Skype with her and the answer is no.
I know it is a good idea to maintain as much communication as possible for Shy so that she doesn't feel left alone when she says good-bye to people, and I think just knowing that they are there and wanting to talk to her may be good enough for her. I certainly hope so, but she still gets so upset when she wants to talk to someone and they aren't available to speak, yet she thinks nothing of saying no to talk to other people. That is what bothers me the most.
Last night was another example. She wanted to ask her friend a question and called the house. No one answered the phone and she had a major meltdown. I think she would have been better had she been able to leave a message but the person was on the phone and didn't go over from the call-waiting so there was no machine either.
I have already talked about my age many times on this blog, so it doesn't bother me to day...."Back in the day".... before call-waiting, answering machines and the like, this was not a big issue. If someone didn't answer the phone, they weren't home, and you called back later. Today we expect either a person to answer or a machine to pick up and when it doesn't happen for this particular 6 year old, boy does she get upset.
Just one of the many things we have to work on, but we are confident we can overcome this with time. We will keep stressing the way she feels when people won't talk to her when she decides not to talk to someone else, and hopefully at some point she will get old enough, wise enough, and mature enough to want to talk to people, or to at least be polite enough to say hello.
*
So Wednesday night Shy Skyped with Amy for a very short time. On the other hand, when Barry called and wanted to talk to her on the phone, she said no.
Then last night Barry called and wanted to Skype with Shy but she didn't want to and she didn't want to talk to him on the phone either. I know Amy reads this blog and I am sure she took that last suggestion about Skyping and thought it was a good idea. I agree. It is a good idea. Apparently only when shy is in the mood though and quite frankly, I can't figure her out.
Sometimes, she will answer the phone and talk to whoever is on the other end for quite a while. Sometimes she will answer the phone just to see who it is and then hands the phone to either DW or me. Sometimes she won't go near the phone and when someone asks for her, she has no interest in talking. Very hard to figure out which "phone shyanne" is going to be place at a given time.
I assume when she gets a little bit older and her friends are calling/texting/whatever they will be doing 10 years from now, she will be responding to them more often than I care to know about. Now children at this age are always finicky about talking on the phone, and I guess now skyping as well. There have actually been times when Shyanne has wanted to Skype and the person she wants to skype with is not available. She can have a major meltdown over that. Of course she doesn't remember that when people want to Skype with her and the answer is no.
I know it is a good idea to maintain as much communication as possible for Shy so that she doesn't feel left alone when she says good-bye to people, and I think just knowing that they are there and wanting to talk to her may be good enough for her. I certainly hope so, but she still gets so upset when she wants to talk to someone and they aren't available to speak, yet she thinks nothing of saying no to talk to other people. That is what bothers me the most.
Last night was another example. She wanted to ask her friend a question and called the house. No one answered the phone and she had a major meltdown. I think she would have been better had she been able to leave a message but the person was on the phone and didn't go over from the call-waiting so there was no machine either.
I have already talked about my age many times on this blog, so it doesn't bother me to day...."Back in the day".... before call-waiting, answering machines and the like, this was not a big issue. If someone didn't answer the phone, they weren't home, and you called back later. Today we expect either a person to answer or a machine to pick up and when it doesn't happen for this particular 6 year old, boy does she get upset.
Just one of the many things we have to work on, but we are confident we can overcome this with time. We will keep stressing the way she feels when people won't talk to her when she decides not to talk to someone else, and hopefully at some point she will get old enough, wise enough, and mature enough to want to talk to people, or to at least be polite enough to say hello.
*
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
A New Idea
*
It has been a real busy couple of weeks. Of course 4th of July week was kind of a weird one with the 4th being right in the middle of the week. But then it was off to Portland, Oregon to visit with Barry last week. We all had a great visit with him. He looks good. We hadn't seen him in over a year and it was nice to see him looking good, and of course Shyanne absolutely adores him. That in and of itself is a very interesting thing.
When Shyanne first came to us in December, 2007, Barry was living in Birmingham, Alabama. He lived there until this past December when he moved to Portland, Oregon. During this 4 1/2 years Barry has come home a few times and we have gone to visit him a couple of times. We also saw each other at my father's funeral last February, which was the last time we were together.
So why does Shyanne have such an affinity for her big brother Barry? In her whole life, she has seen him so little. When we visited him in Alabama it was only a few days. When we saw each other at the funeral, it was only a few days. When he came home the two or three times he did, it was only for a week or so. This trip to Portland was fly out on Monday and fly back on Friday.
We were in Portland for 4 days, yet the whole time we were there, Shyanne wanted nothing more than to be with her big brother Barry. She wanted to hold his hand. She wanted to show him how she could swim. She wanted to act like him and be like him. She looked up to him like only a little sister can look up to a big brother. Yet how does that happen when she spends so little time with him and really doesn't know him all that well?
I don't know how you all feel about it, but it is amazing to me!
And of course, when we go to leave, it is a difficult time for Shyanne. Now while it is a long trip from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Portland, Oregon, Shyanne was great going out there. Coming back was a whole different story. It is just so hard for her to say good-bye. I wonder if we make too much of it sometimes, but it doesn't seem to matter. She just doesn't like to say good-bye when we go to visit.
I always wonder if it has to do with saying good-bye to people who never come back into her life. For a child so young, she has certainly had a number of people say good-bye to her and then never return. Her biological parents are just the start. Her two oldest biological brothers she hasn't seen in over a year and a half and there is no sign of seeing them any time soon. Then there was her Papa (my dad) who passed away last February and she knows he will never be back.
Of course I don't know for sure and Shyanne certainly is not able to put into words why saying good-bye is so difficult for her. When you ask her all you get is "I don't know" or she just hides behind you when it is time to leave.
I know when I was a kid there were certain people I didn't like to say Good-Bye to, but it wasn't universal like it is with Shyanne. I just didn't like the Aunt who would have to pinch my cheek, or the relative that kind of smelled and I would try to hide or keep from saying good-bye to them. But in general, it was not a problem for me. I guess I always knew that they were coming back...eventually. In my mind I never looked at it as good-bye, I more looked at it as a "see you later" type thing.
Maybe if we tried using that with Shyanne it would work. Instead of saying goodbye we could identify the next time we were going to see someone and then change the good-bye to "see you next month" or something like that.
I guess we will have to try that. Any other ideas?
*
It has been a real busy couple of weeks. Of course 4th of July week was kind of a weird one with the 4th being right in the middle of the week. But then it was off to Portland, Oregon to visit with Barry last week. We all had a great visit with him. He looks good. We hadn't seen him in over a year and it was nice to see him looking good, and of course Shyanne absolutely adores him. That in and of itself is a very interesting thing.
When Shyanne first came to us in December, 2007, Barry was living in Birmingham, Alabama. He lived there until this past December when he moved to Portland, Oregon. During this 4 1/2 years Barry has come home a few times and we have gone to visit him a couple of times. We also saw each other at my father's funeral last February, which was the last time we were together.
So why does Shyanne have such an affinity for her big brother Barry? In her whole life, she has seen him so little. When we visited him in Alabama it was only a few days. When we saw each other at the funeral, it was only a few days. When he came home the two or three times he did, it was only for a week or so. This trip to Portland was fly out on Monday and fly back on Friday.
We were in Portland for 4 days, yet the whole time we were there, Shyanne wanted nothing more than to be with her big brother Barry. She wanted to hold his hand. She wanted to show him how she could swim. She wanted to act like him and be like him. She looked up to him like only a little sister can look up to a big brother. Yet how does that happen when she spends so little time with him and really doesn't know him all that well?
I don't know how you all feel about it, but it is amazing to me!
And of course, when we go to leave, it is a difficult time for Shyanne. Now while it is a long trip from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Portland, Oregon, Shyanne was great going out there. Coming back was a whole different story. It is just so hard for her to say good-bye. I wonder if we make too much of it sometimes, but it doesn't seem to matter. She just doesn't like to say good-bye when we go to visit.
I always wonder if it has to do with saying good-bye to people who never come back into her life. For a child so young, she has certainly had a number of people say good-bye to her and then never return. Her biological parents are just the start. Her two oldest biological brothers she hasn't seen in over a year and a half and there is no sign of seeing them any time soon. Then there was her Papa (my dad) who passed away last February and she knows he will never be back.
Of course I don't know for sure and Shyanne certainly is not able to put into words why saying good-bye is so difficult for her. When you ask her all you get is "I don't know" or she just hides behind you when it is time to leave.
I know when I was a kid there were certain people I didn't like to say Good-Bye to, but it wasn't universal like it is with Shyanne. I just didn't like the Aunt who would have to pinch my cheek, or the relative that kind of smelled and I would try to hide or keep from saying good-bye to them. But in general, it was not a problem for me. I guess I always knew that they were coming back...eventually. In my mind I never looked at it as good-bye, I more looked at it as a "see you later" type thing.
Maybe if we tried using that with Shyanne it would work. Instead of saying goodbye we could identify the next time we were going to see someone and then change the good-bye to "see you next month" or something like that.
I guess we will have to try that. Any other ideas?
*
Thursday, June 28, 2012
An Incredible Girl
*
My Brother-in-Law and Father-in-Law were up visiting from Florida for the past 8 days. During that time, Kari and my grandson Logan also came to visit, so we had quite a full house for a little while. Tomorrow, DW, Shyanne and I leave for York Beach, Maine where we will spend the weekend with Kari, Andy and Logan as well as one of my nieces from Texas, a cousin from Kentucky, and my mother who we will pick up at the airport tomorrow in Boston (after spending the morning at the New England Aquarium)
This is both good and bad for Shyanne. She loves having other people around. I guess Mom and Dad can get boring at times, so any change is good. So she will love spending time with her big sister Kari and her nephew Logan. again. She will also love spending time with her cousin from Texas. Part of the reason is that they all pay so much attention to her and always want to show her a good time. The other part of it is that she is so easy to show a good time to.
Shyanne is one of the most appreciative young children I have ever met. She loves when people do anything with her or for her, and she loves doing things with other people as well. When she is doing somehting with someone, she almost always has a smile on her face. Reading her a story, or throwing a ball around with her, she is smiling. On the stage at her dance recital, she smiled the whole time. Playing basketball, T-Ball, Soccer or just riding on her scooter, she is smiling and happy.
I can't wait to take her to the fun-o-rama on Saturday to play games there. I know she will be smiling the whole time. I know she will be enjoying herself. I know she will love the beach and she will love being with all the other relatives. The best part is that she makes things far more enjoyable for everyone else who is around her. The happiness and enjoyment she has for everything she does transfers to everyone who is with her. She is one of those people they say "light up a room" when she comes in. She really does! She is truly an incrediable little girl.
*
My Brother-in-Law and Father-in-Law were up visiting from Florida for the past 8 days. During that time, Kari and my grandson Logan also came to visit, so we had quite a full house for a little while. Tomorrow, DW, Shyanne and I leave for York Beach, Maine where we will spend the weekend with Kari, Andy and Logan as well as one of my nieces from Texas, a cousin from Kentucky, and my mother who we will pick up at the airport tomorrow in Boston (after spending the morning at the New England Aquarium)
This is both good and bad for Shyanne. She loves having other people around. I guess Mom and Dad can get boring at times, so any change is good. So she will love spending time with her big sister Kari and her nephew Logan. again. She will also love spending time with her cousin from Texas. Part of the reason is that they all pay so much attention to her and always want to show her a good time. The other part of it is that she is so easy to show a good time to.
Shyanne is one of the most appreciative young children I have ever met. She loves when people do anything with her or for her, and she loves doing things with other people as well. When she is doing somehting with someone, she almost always has a smile on her face. Reading her a story, or throwing a ball around with her, she is smiling. On the stage at her dance recital, she smiled the whole time. Playing basketball, T-Ball, Soccer or just riding on her scooter, she is smiling and happy.
I can't wait to take her to the fun-o-rama on Saturday to play games there. I know she will be smiling the whole time. I know she will be enjoying herself. I know she will love the beach and she will love being with all the other relatives. The best part is that she makes things far more enjoyable for everyone else who is around her. The happiness and enjoyment she has for everything she does transfers to everyone who is with her. She is one of those people they say "light up a room" when she comes in. She really does! She is truly an incrediable little girl.
*
Friday, June 22, 2012
Anniversary
*
So I just want to be up front and say that this post has nothing to do directly with adoption or foster care.
While Shyanne is a very important part of my life and I don't ever want anyone to forget that, and my three biological children are also a very important part of my life, and I don't want anyone to forget that, there is one other girl that may well be the most important of all. Without her, there definitely would not have been the three biological children, and it is doubtful that there would be Shyanne in my life.
Well, I am sure you have all guessed by now that I am talking about my lovely wife. The reason I choose today to bring this up is that today is our 37th wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe that. Thirty Seven years is a long time for anything, but for Linda to have put up with me for that long is truly amazing. Quite frankly, it is nothing short of a miracle.
We started dating when we were in high school and got married shortly after my 20th birthday. She was a tad bit younger than I. A lot of people thought we were too young to get married and I am sure there were many taking bets as to how long it would last. I am thinking that anyone who made those bets, lost.
I am asked on occasion how we have managed to stay together for so long. The simple answer is that we love each other. We would do anything for each other, and while we do have our moments where we have arguments, I don't think we ever lose sight of the fact that we do truly love and respect each other. Even if we do get each other angry on occasion.
I know that marriages suffer most when times are stressful. Certainly children increase stress in a relationship, as do financial concerns, illness, and other issues. For some people I think the stress sits between them and pushes them apart. I think for Linda and I the stress sits outside of us and pushes us together.
Nothing could have been more stressful than the first few years of life of our oldest child. She had multiple birth defects and required multiple surgeries at Boston Children's Hospital. I was working hard and working many overnight hours at the time and then commuting into Boston to be with Linda while she spent nights at the hospital. It was truly a scary time for two naive people in their early twenties. We made it through though and came out the other side stronger and I think even more in love with each other.
There have been other times when we have had problems, but in the end, those problems have just made us stronger. We are certainly happy together and have enjoyed our life together. If I had it to do all over again, there is absolutely no one I would rather spend my life with then her.
She is certainly the love of my life and has always been the girl of my dreams. I love her dearly and would never trade her in for anything.
Happy Anniversary Linda! I love you!
*
So I just want to be up front and say that this post has nothing to do directly with adoption or foster care.
While Shyanne is a very important part of my life and I don't ever want anyone to forget that, and my three biological children are also a very important part of my life, and I don't want anyone to forget that, there is one other girl that may well be the most important of all. Without her, there definitely would not have been the three biological children, and it is doubtful that there would be Shyanne in my life.
Well, I am sure you have all guessed by now that I am talking about my lovely wife. The reason I choose today to bring this up is that today is our 37th wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe that. Thirty Seven years is a long time for anything, but for Linda to have put up with me for that long is truly amazing. Quite frankly, it is nothing short of a miracle.
We started dating when we were in high school and got married shortly after my 20th birthday. She was a tad bit younger than I. A lot of people thought we were too young to get married and I am sure there were many taking bets as to how long it would last. I am thinking that anyone who made those bets, lost.
I am asked on occasion how we have managed to stay together for so long. The simple answer is that we love each other. We would do anything for each other, and while we do have our moments where we have arguments, I don't think we ever lose sight of the fact that we do truly love and respect each other. Even if we do get each other angry on occasion.
I know that marriages suffer most when times are stressful. Certainly children increase stress in a relationship, as do financial concerns, illness, and other issues. For some people I think the stress sits between them and pushes them apart. I think for Linda and I the stress sits outside of us and pushes us together.
Nothing could have been more stressful than the first few years of life of our oldest child. She had multiple birth defects and required multiple surgeries at Boston Children's Hospital. I was working hard and working many overnight hours at the time and then commuting into Boston to be with Linda while she spent nights at the hospital. It was truly a scary time for two naive people in their early twenties. We made it through though and came out the other side stronger and I think even more in love with each other.
There have been other times when we have had problems, but in the end, those problems have just made us stronger. We are certainly happy together and have enjoyed our life together. If I had it to do all over again, there is absolutely no one I would rather spend my life with then her.
She is certainly the love of my life and has always been the girl of my dreams. I love her dearly and would never trade her in for anything.
Happy Anniversary Linda! I love you!
*
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
One of Those Moments
*
Saturday I attended Shyanne's Dance Recital. The one they have been preparing for all year. She takes Tap, Jazz and ballet. She enjoys them all. This meant that she was going to appear in three acts during the show. Plus the finale. So, considering she was in 4 acts, my thoughts were that it would be a good show for me and fairly quick.
The shows we went to in Maine were always long and drawn out. They crowded people into the school auditorium, there was barely room for everyone to sit, and the shows just dragged and dragged. The shows I saw in Maine were the ones you dread. the ones that you had to sit and watch so many other acts you weren't interested in just to see your own child for a few quick moments on the stage.
This one on the Cape was going to be different. "How did I know this?" you ask. Well, for one, the dance school had divided up the recital into 3 different shows! There was one show on Friday night, one show on Saturday at 1:00pm and the last show (the one my daughter would be in) at 5:00pm on Saturday. It was also in a much larger school auditorium. Taking all that into account, I know this would be a quick moving, relatively short show in which I would see my daughter on stage for three different dances and the finale.
I was actually looking forward to this dance recital.
DW had offered to help back stage with the kids. That was fine with me. I had no problem with that. She did have to show up an hour early though. Of course Shy had to show up 45 minutes early, and they opened the doors to the auditorium 30 minutes before the show, so it just made sense for all of us to go together. I didn't mind getting there a little early. This was going to be an easy early and quick show anyway.
So around 3:55 we all showed up at the auditorium. DW and Shy went to the back stage area and I waited for the doors to the auditorium to open up. There was one other person who had come early to see her granddaughter perform. I had the opportunity to purchase a rose for Shyanne while I was waiting, so I went ahead and did that. I was talking with the other woman about things in general. Where we lived, who we were there to see and just made small talk for a while. Then she asked me if I had a program. I said that I hadn't seen one yet and she pointed me to a gentleman who had programs for this show.
I went and got one and started looking at it. They had one program for all three shows and they listed the acts for the shows separately so it was quite a thick program. It was about the size of the PLAYBILL programs you see for theater shows and I went through looking for the Saturday 5:00pm show.
I couldn't believe my eyes. The first thing I saw was that the show had an intermission. AN INTERMISSION!!! How long was this show that it needed an intermission? Oh my! There were 49 acts in this show!! My daughter was only in 3 plus the finale. She appeared in one act before the intermission. What was going on here. Surely there was a mistake. They must have combined all the shows together and only certain acts were int his show? Maybe? please?
No, that wasn't the case. The show my daughter was in was 49 acts long. There was an intermission after the 22nd act. I would sit through those first 22 acts and see her perform only once. I was wondering what I had done to deserve such a fate.
So, at 4:30 they opened up the doors to the auditorium and I found a seat in the second row on the aisle. I got my camera ready and started testing out different modes to see what might work best. They wouldn't allow flash photography, so I needed to see if any setting was any better than any other. as it turns out, it all depended on the light provided by the auditorium as to whether or not the pictures came out any good. I guess if I was a professional photographer, it might make a difference.
At shortly after 5:00 pm the show started. Some of the girls danced very well. Some did not dance quite so well, but that was OK. For the most part they seemed to be having a good time doing their thing on the stage with everyone watching them perform. Most of them had smiles on their faces. There were no real small ones, so there was no one just standing there and not dancing. They were all doing the dances. The younger ones were not quite in sync as well as the older ones, but that is what you would expect. There were a couple of girls who performed solo and they obviously were the better dancers in the group.
Not being any more than an occasionally viewer of SYTYCD (So You Think You Can Dance) I really don't have any skills to identify what is a good dancer and what isn't. So I just watched and waited.....and waited......and waited for Shyanne to get out on stage for the first time. It was about 6:00 when she finally hit the stage for her ballet number. I had waited over 2 hours for this. The outfit was absolutely adorable and they danced to "Let's Go Fly A Kite" from "Mary Poppins". It was very cute and all the girls (and one boy) looked adorable. It lasted about 2 1/2 minutes and was over. My pictures came out just OK.
Intermission came and DW brought a sandwich to the lobby for me to eat while I awaited the second part of the show.
While it is already too late to make a long story short, I will shorten it up a bit here The second half of the show was more of the same except that I got to watch Shyanne perform her tap and her jazz dance during this portion as well as participate in the finale. (It wasn't really much, just everyone coming out and taking a bow.)
It was the second act that Shyanne was in that made it all worthwhile. This was the tap dancing act. It started around 6:30. They were all dressed in these adorable looking "rain jacket" type costumes with little dainty umbrellas and tap danced to "Singing in the Rain". It was really cute. Do you remember the old commercials with Bo Jackson where they went "Bo knows Baseball" or Bo knows football" or "Bo knows (put in whatever you are advertising here). Well, "Shyanne knows cute!" And she does it very well.
Anyway, they are tapping around in a circle spinning their umbrellas and having a grand old time when Shyanne notices me sitting there in the second row. She looks at me, gives me a big smile and then waves to me! She was the only one in the whole show that waved. Or at least the only one I noticed. I smiled and waved back.
The show lasted until 8:15. I was at that school for almost 4 1/2 hours. If you had told me before hand that it was going to be almost 8:30 before I got home, I would have been looking for ways to minimize the pain of attending the show. I may have offered to do just about anything to get out of attending the show. I am glad I didn't.
I would have sat through a thousand acts for that one moment when she waved to me. It made it all worthwhile. It also reminds me that you have to pay attention to what is going on. Especially with your children. You never know when one of those "moments" is going to occur and if you aren't paying attention, you may miss it. I'm glad I didn't miss it. 3 seconds made the whole 4 1/2 hours an absolute pleasure. I can't wait to get the video in the mail. I hope it shows her waving. Even if it doesn't, I will always remember it.
*
Saturday I attended Shyanne's Dance Recital. The one they have been preparing for all year. She takes Tap, Jazz and ballet. She enjoys them all. This meant that she was going to appear in three acts during the show. Plus the finale. So, considering she was in 4 acts, my thoughts were that it would be a good show for me and fairly quick.
The shows we went to in Maine were always long and drawn out. They crowded people into the school auditorium, there was barely room for everyone to sit, and the shows just dragged and dragged. The shows I saw in Maine were the ones you dread. the ones that you had to sit and watch so many other acts you weren't interested in just to see your own child for a few quick moments on the stage.
This one on the Cape was going to be different. "How did I know this?" you ask. Well, for one, the dance school had divided up the recital into 3 different shows! There was one show on Friday night, one show on Saturday at 1:00pm and the last show (the one my daughter would be in) at 5:00pm on Saturday. It was also in a much larger school auditorium. Taking all that into account, I know this would be a quick moving, relatively short show in which I would see my daughter on stage for three different dances and the finale.
I was actually looking forward to this dance recital.
DW had offered to help back stage with the kids. That was fine with me. I had no problem with that. She did have to show up an hour early though. Of course Shy had to show up 45 minutes early, and they opened the doors to the auditorium 30 minutes before the show, so it just made sense for all of us to go together. I didn't mind getting there a little early. This was going to be an easy early and quick show anyway.
So around 3:55 we all showed up at the auditorium. DW and Shy went to the back stage area and I waited for the doors to the auditorium to open up. There was one other person who had come early to see her granddaughter perform. I had the opportunity to purchase a rose for Shyanne while I was waiting, so I went ahead and did that. I was talking with the other woman about things in general. Where we lived, who we were there to see and just made small talk for a while. Then she asked me if I had a program. I said that I hadn't seen one yet and she pointed me to a gentleman who had programs for this show.
I went and got one and started looking at it. They had one program for all three shows and they listed the acts for the shows separately so it was quite a thick program. It was about the size of the PLAYBILL programs you see for theater shows and I went through looking for the Saturday 5:00pm show.
I couldn't believe my eyes. The first thing I saw was that the show had an intermission. AN INTERMISSION!!! How long was this show that it needed an intermission? Oh my! There were 49 acts in this show!! My daughter was only in 3 plus the finale. She appeared in one act before the intermission. What was going on here. Surely there was a mistake. They must have combined all the shows together and only certain acts were int his show? Maybe? please?
No, that wasn't the case. The show my daughter was in was 49 acts long. There was an intermission after the 22nd act. I would sit through those first 22 acts and see her perform only once. I was wondering what I had done to deserve such a fate.
So, at 4:30 they opened up the doors to the auditorium and I found a seat in the second row on the aisle. I got my camera ready and started testing out different modes to see what might work best. They wouldn't allow flash photography, so I needed to see if any setting was any better than any other. as it turns out, it all depended on the light provided by the auditorium as to whether or not the pictures came out any good. I guess if I was a professional photographer, it might make a difference.
At shortly after 5:00 pm the show started. Some of the girls danced very well. Some did not dance quite so well, but that was OK. For the most part they seemed to be having a good time doing their thing on the stage with everyone watching them perform. Most of them had smiles on their faces. There were no real small ones, so there was no one just standing there and not dancing. They were all doing the dances. The younger ones were not quite in sync as well as the older ones, but that is what you would expect. There were a couple of girls who performed solo and they obviously were the better dancers in the group.
Not being any more than an occasionally viewer of SYTYCD (So You Think You Can Dance) I really don't have any skills to identify what is a good dancer and what isn't. So I just watched and waited.....and waited......and waited for Shyanne to get out on stage for the first time. It was about 6:00 when she finally hit the stage for her ballet number. I had waited over 2 hours for this. The outfit was absolutely adorable and they danced to "Let's Go Fly A Kite" from "Mary Poppins". It was very cute and all the girls (and one boy) looked adorable. It lasted about 2 1/2 minutes and was over. My pictures came out just OK.
Intermission came and DW brought a sandwich to the lobby for me to eat while I awaited the second part of the show.
While it is already too late to make a long story short, I will shorten it up a bit here The second half of the show was more of the same except that I got to watch Shyanne perform her tap and her jazz dance during this portion as well as participate in the finale. (It wasn't really much, just everyone coming out and taking a bow.)
It was the second act that Shyanne was in that made it all worthwhile. This was the tap dancing act. It started around 6:30. They were all dressed in these adorable looking "rain jacket" type costumes with little dainty umbrellas and tap danced to "Singing in the Rain". It was really cute. Do you remember the old commercials with Bo Jackson where they went "Bo knows Baseball" or Bo knows football" or "Bo knows (put in whatever you are advertising here). Well, "Shyanne knows cute!" And she does it very well.
Anyway, they are tapping around in a circle spinning their umbrellas and having a grand old time when Shyanne notices me sitting there in the second row. She looks at me, gives me a big smile and then waves to me! She was the only one in the whole show that waved. Or at least the only one I noticed. I smiled and waved back.
The show lasted until 8:15. I was at that school for almost 4 1/2 hours. If you had told me before hand that it was going to be almost 8:30 before I got home, I would have been looking for ways to minimize the pain of attending the show. I may have offered to do just about anything to get out of attending the show. I am glad I didn't.
I would have sat through a thousand acts for that one moment when she waved to me. It made it all worthwhile. It also reminds me that you have to pay attention to what is going on. Especially with your children. You never know when one of those "moments" is going to occur and if you aren't paying attention, you may miss it. I'm glad I didn't miss it. 3 seconds made the whole 4 1/2 hours an absolute pleasure. I can't wait to get the video in the mail. I hope it shows her waving. Even if it doesn't, I will always remember it.
*
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
