The Nutcracker....sweet!

I do not think that I am cut out to be a stage mom, seriously. It is just not me. Let me coach a little league team or something...but a stage mom, I'll never be good at that. The hair, and makeup and undergarments...the creativity, the vision, the faith that it will all come together regardless of how inefficient it appears. This was my first dose of theatre from the behind-the-scenes angle, and honestly I was not much impressed. Is all theatre this way? Wait, and wait, and wait - then change something, and wait again. I just don't "get" it, but I truly wish I did. I'm a total A-type personality, I crave organization and don't have an ounce of creativity in my body. So over the Nutcracker performance weekend, I felt like a big heel, a novice...a wet blanket in the world of children's theatre.

However as I sat for hours with Macy in the basement of a freezing cold opera house, I realized that this is something that she truly enjoys & loves. I knew this because I was willing to drive in a blizzard (seriously) to get her to rehearsals, pin and unpin her costume dozens of times, apply makeup in a fashion that I would never dream of letting her out of the house in when she's a teenager. But she never once said "I don't want to do this", or "I'm bored" she practiced, and danced, and smiled all the while. Had she just once said, "I don't like this" or "I'm bored" or "I'd rather be doing xyz" I would have jetted out of there in an instant. But she was having a ball, and soaking the entire "theatre" experience. How on earth could I deny her this opportunity? I can't and I won't. Not to mention that she's good, and eager to get even better.

As I sat in the audience, with the orchestra playing, the lights, the sounds were amazing. My heart was about to jump out of my chest, for I was a bundle of nerves. She performed beautifully, the entire production was a success (each and every show). Afterward I asked Macy if her heart was thumping when it was her turn. She looked at me a little confused and just replied "no". This is easy for her. Lucky girl.

So I will learn to be a stage-mom, and I'm sure once I have a few performances under my belt I'll have a better appreciation of the process and maybe even embrace it.The Waiting
Macy & her best friend BriannaMacy & her Auntie Kelsey