Let me start with a question: Have you heard of drama queens?
If you're new here, my husband and I have two sons (the oldest is a college grad who got married and moved far, far away last summer. Our second son is far away finishing his second year of college. Waaaaaaa! Oh sorry, I'm ok.) We also have a daughter. The third and final child. The one and only girl.
When that girl, our only daughter, our baby, the one who is planning to graduate from high school in about 59 days (not that anyone here is counting) and leave our nest for summer camp the next day (how dare she?) is given the role of the Queen in Cinderella The Musical during her senior year of high school - well, let me tell you, you have the highest definition of Drama Queen right in your own home. (You also just read the longest runon sentence in history of writing.) How glorious! Oh please, read on.
We had the best few days. Friends came down from out of town early before the show. It was so wonderful to prepare dinner (like real food) and set the table two nights in a row. Family came. Local friends also showed up to watch our girl.
Is there anything more wonderful than friends who champion your kids? It's right up there in my book and Scott and I are so grateful to feel that love. It's noticed and it matters.
I knew Ally had a big role, one of the four leads, but somewhere along the way I must have minimized it in my mind. She says it's because I don't listen, but I reject that. I couldn't have been more suprised at how often she was on the stage, how many lines she memorized and the number of songs she sang - mostly in duet form. I had that silly, wide grin on my face during the whole show - all three nights - just like I used to when I watched my boys play basketball. She nailed it!
Makes all those hard parenting days pay off when you can see your kids excel at something they didn't necessarily have the confidence to back up when the opportunity presented itself.
What I love about this part of Ally's story is that when she auditioned, she told the directors she didn't want a speaking part. Wouldn't mind a solo, but no lines! Their response, "We want you to be the Queen." She said, "But I don't act," and they said, "We know you can do this and we will teach you."
It's one thing when your parents tell you they believe in you, but when teachers pick you out of a crowd and say, "We believe you are perfect for this part," something good happens. I love teachers like that, who see potential and draw it out even when the student is reluctant and insecure. What a gift!
Also, I have to mention how the directors made this musical special and personal for all the little girls in the "kingdom". All were invited to come dressed in their best Cinderella gowns and have pictures taken with the cast and in the carriage. It was the sweetest thing to watch these little girls stare at the big girls and approach them with awe. It was like Disneyworld at Maine Endwell High School. A real community affair.
Here are some of our favorite moments from the weekend. It would be incomplete without backstage selfies. You'll forgive me, right? Oh and hopefully you'll spot Cinderella who was fabulous (oops?).
If the weekend wasn't wonderful enough, we were able to end it with a family skype date with our far away kids. Ben made it safely back to the US after a week-long mission trip in Poland and we wanted to hear all about it.
Picture this scene....Scott, Ally and I are cuddled on the couch hosting the chat. My mom is on the other couch, quiet as a church mouse (unseen to the boys and Brittany) but listening to everything. Eventually she yelled something and Drew exclaims, "ROSEM! I didn't know you were there! " We all died laughing. (Some of you will find that funnier than the rest of you who are thinking, "Yeah....and?") Trust me, it was funny.
Lastly, we exchanged prayer requests for the coming week and blew kisses goodbye. Well, the boys don't usually do that, but Brittany does.
I used to be resistant to technology, but this kind of stuff is a dream-come-true for parents. Magical in a way.
No comments:
Post a Comment