Dance is over . . . or is it?

I need to give some background information about our dancing this year.  I hate dance.  Ally hates dance and has reminded me before every Tuesday/Thursday class that "I signed her up and she didn't want to dance."  Hayden tolerates dance but was ready to quit after the recital.  I did not read any information at the studio about summer classes.  I did not listen to any announcements about competition next year(Hayden is in the class going to competition next year).  I was ready for the big finish.  I had already thought about the money we'd save, the time we'd have to do other things and the frustration we would avoid with not having to take twin toddlers to a dance studio with nothing to do for 2 hours while the girls cried and complained about having to go. 

I could feel the relief.

So here we are, recital time.  We made it a family activity(minus 2 boys - Thanks GG!!).  We got our costumes, makeup, hair-stuff, stage mom sheet, etc. ready to go and left the house in plenty of time to sit down for lunch.  Once at the Civic Center, Ben went to get seats with Ally and Hayden and I set up shop in the dressing room.  After starting 45 minutes late due to technical difficulties, her first dance was "Name Game"; a really fast tap dance.  She looked so comfortable on stage, smiling and performing with "ease".  I met her in the dressing room for a semi-quick change into ballet.  She came in the room and said "Mom, that was a BLAST!"  I start feeling that maybe she is giving up on dance for the wrong reasons, but quickly remind myself that I hate dance.  Her ballet dance is ok, but maybe too remedial.  She does a great job with it, but I think they could have done harder stuff.  But, hey , I hate dance and we are halfway done with Hayden.  She has a long wait until jazz, "Jailhouse Rock".  Once again she looks so comfortable up on stage.  I am really quite surprised.  She is such a timid, shy person that avoids anything new or scary.  It is really a joy to see her perform and seem to enjoy it so much.  She dances in the finale and when it is over we find our family.  Mom, Nanny, Jackie, Griffin and Erin leave to take Erin and Griffin home.  We plus Dad stick around trying to decide what we should do for dinner.  Because of the delay in the show we really don't have time to leave to eat somewhere, so we talk Dad into eating McDonalds.  Not an easy feat under normal circumstances.  Since I have been participating in the Biggest Loser at the gym I have researched what to eat at different fast food places.  I think I recall the Big N'Tasty being ok.  Ben leaves with Dad driving.  This part really isn't part of the "recital" but typical of a funny with us.  So since Dad is driving he gets to order at the drive thru.  Wanting to get things just right he verifies that I want the Big Nasty.  If this had been me in the car I would have said yes and let him order it.  Ben is too nice.  Not wanting him to make a big ol'fool of himself, points out the T in the name(Big N'Tasty).  Back at the recital, Ben tells me about the missing T and I get hysterical.  Dad is sitting about 6 chairs away and I ask him if he got the Big N'Tasty too and he shakes his head yes.  Poor old man.  Ben lets him know that he is not, in fact, eating a Big N'Tasty, but a double quarter pounder with cheese.  It's bad when you've ordered it and you still don't know what it is.  Hope it was good.  So the evening recital starts and I get to be a stage mom for Ally's first dance.  A couple weeks ago, I lost my tolerance for ignorant people and apparently it is still missing.  If you want to socialize backstage, sign up for that, don't be a stage mom.  So we get the rowdy girls back to the row of chairs or holding area.  Mom #2 sees some people she knows and starts gabbing.  I am in charge of the back of the line.  She is supposed to be in charge of the front. Hah.  The stage person comes out from backstage and looks at me.  "Are you the stage mom?"  My reply, "Yes, I'm one of them."  "Well, we are ready for you guys to come backstage"  Hmmm.  "Ok"  I move to the front of the line and start leading the girls in.  "Hey stage mom#2, you coming?"  I should have left her there.  The girls perform and Ally does great.  She smiles so big and with attitude that only Ally can pull off.  We leave the backstage area and return to the dressing rooms.  We only lost 1 girl.  Seriously.  I got Ally ready for her next dance and sat around in the dressing room waiting.  Stage Mom#2 was on again.  She told me she had it and for me to go enjoy the show.  I paused and then decided to go and watch the show.  If Ally doesn't end up on the stage for the dance, I thought, she's all mine.  Just a side note, this stage mom#2 lady has a son that pegged Caleb in the head with a coke bottle at dance.  It took him 3 tries before it got him.  It wouldn't take me that many tries with her.  Well Ally did make it on stage and did a great job with her tap dance too.  I had planned on leaving after her second dance, I figured Ben had seen enough!  Hayden had other plans.  She didn't get to see what the finale looked like  This was her chance.  So Hayden got to see the finale and Ally got to see that she wasn't in the finale like many of her dancing classmates.  (We usually have a least one kid crying about something most of the time).  Hayden was happy and Ally was so very sad.  On the way home, Ben and I discussed how good the girls performed and that maybe we needed to encourage them to dance again.  Hayden is going to dance this summer in preparation for her competition class she will take in the fall and Ally wants to take a break this summer, but dance in the fall so she can be in the finale. 

 I hate dance.