This year Sunnyside Ballet Studio joined the Sunnyside Shines's Summer Thursdays program under the 7 train and performed several numbers from its recital program including Elisa's hip hop dance. So we went around 5pm to get her there in time and Carolina sat with me while we waited to see all the dancers. The soloists were awesome and I enjoyed the atmosphere of people watching and being lightened by all the youthful spirit. The ground might have been a dirty mess, but the dancers didn't mind and they all showed us what is possible when you bring art and beauty into every day life. Even under the train.
This year's dance recital for the girls was a bit different and I'm still trying to figure out if it was better or worse. In the last three years, it has been held on Father's Day itself which was always a bit of a bummer. Of course, Nacho didn't complain too much but it felt like we should be honoring him a different way. So this year, the studio announced it was holding the recital a weekend earlier which should have been terrific news. Except that it coincided with one of our favorite June traditions--the camp out at the park. And there was just no way the girls could do both. So I pretty much accepted that they wouldn't be able to sleep at the park. They could register to attend and then come home after the movie and that should have been fine. A good compromise, I guess. Nacho was actually somewhat relieved at having a reprieve from the sleepless night in the tent. But still the girls were a little sad when we had to pull them out of the park at 11pm to get ready for an all day dance marathon. And that's what I suppose I should call this. It's not just a recital. The dress rehearsal begins the morning of the show and this year, Elisa was set to perform her hip hop dance in both the 1:30 and 4:30 shows. Yet, Carolina only danced in the earlier show. So we would have to stay regardless and I wasn't loving that idea. Part of me just wanted to go and get on with the day. There is something so anti-climactic about coming back after the break to perform again. But seeing how much she loved it and knowing that Carolina could sit and watch the dancers during her rest was some consolation. In the end it didn't feel as long as it was. And we made it home to change and then to The Lowery for a bit of a celebratory dinner.
The girls are both completely fixated with earning their Five Year Dance Awards from the studio after seeing countless friends get theirs. Elisa will earn hers next year, and Carolina is already plotting her triump after three more years. It's the kind of thing you don't realize means so much to the kids but it really does. Like really, really. So for now, I wonder if they are motivated to take classes because they love expressing themselves through dance, or just because they want a stupid medal. I suppose it shouldn't matter the reason. But knowing how much they shine when they dance, I really hope it's the first. I've always felt that if they stop enjoying something, they should not have to keep it up. Elisa bolted from Girls Scouts after a little more than a year and I didn't blame her. Both have made comments about quitting dance after they get their awards. But for now, they seem to want to stick with it. The recital is really the highlight of the year, but it's such a long day to get through. I am always impressed that they do it so gracefully and really with moderate bickering. Carolina only cried because her ice cream was melting too fast. I mean, who can blame her? And Elisa was a champ with her knee braced up after falling at the school carnival the day before. I hadn't noticed it swelling up all through the camp out and by the time we were home and getting them to bed, it was too late to manage much. So I told her to go easy and she shouldn't dance if it hurt too bad. She limped around but gave a good performance anyway. Proud of her determination and her willingness to plod on. That is what I hope they're learning in all of this. Dance your heart out. Keep at it. Find your rhythm. Not bad life lessons when you think of it.
The camp out at Sunnyside Gardens Park was a bit of a miss this year for our family. We normally shove Nacho and the girls off to enjoy the whole evening of activities and a somewhat restless night in the park. I get to leave early and party with the rest of the child-free moms and I look forward to coming home to an empty apartment--such a rare occasion for me. But since the girls' dance recital moved up a weekend (finally avoiding Father's Day itself), it came the day after the big camp out. Staying up too late and barely resting was just not a realistic option for girls who need to be at an all-day dress rehearsal before two performances. So we registered as non-campers instead, and I tried to find excitement in the fact that we would be bringing our tent for Jose and German to borrow just like in years past when they shared with Nacho. At least we'd have the equipment if nothing else. This year I'd also volunteered to do the Hobo Camp photos since Joe Orecchio was going to be absent. I figured I'd give the props that Quinn O'Sullivan brings over a nice remaking and we managed to make quite a little seating area for the kids and families to stop by and get snapped. Meanwhile, my girls were practicing their makeup application techniques thanks to Poppy's makeup initiative which promised to cover all their faces in some pretty outrageous colors. Luckily, they were sweating it off in no time...
I didn't run around the event snapping away as much as I might have wanted since the photo booth kept me somewhat tethered to the picnic grove entry. I even missed the entire s'mores making, though I was smart enough to foresee this possibility and brought my own stash! Ha. Take that for not missing dessert. Since the girls still don't really like the campfire confection, I managed to share my goodies with a few other happy adults. Later after the girls got situated watching the movie--Sing!--with their friends, I found my way over to the chair circle set up between Monica and Julie's tents. The crew was relaxing and I managed to kick back and enjoy a lazy rest of the evening. So I guess it turned out to be a pretty good camp out after all...just not what we've done in years past. But sometimes that's a good thing. The girls were a little sad that they couldn't sleep over and Elisa was begging at one point as we were packing it up. But in the end, they came home and got a much better night's sleep. Which was much needed the next day as they danced their little hearts out.
Real estate and terror. Parenting and change. All of these themes have made an appearance of late, and sometimes it feels like life really is just brutish and short. What was it Beckett said? We give birth astride the grave. Sometimes it feels that way and I find myself looking for new ways to cope. In Sunnyside this week we lost a mom who was diagnosed with breast cancer 2 years ago. She had recently turned 38. Two kids and a loving husband who I can't even bear to think about. It's so unfair and so terrible. And then there were the attacks in Manchester and London. More bombs in Iraq going off. Our own disaster of a president makes me cringe and worse every time he opens his mouth. We found out a few weeks ago that Nacho earned a promotion to captain which will come to fruition sometime in the next 11 months. The opportunity was there but we were starting to think he would miss the cut off by his relatively low seniority. But surprise! He made it. Something good to cheer for a minute. The idea has our heads pinging with new thoughts, new promises of the future and our chance to build a world we want our kids to live in--whether that means here in Queens or elsewhere. Seattle looks like it has receded since this upgrade will be based in NYC. And so my housing stock emails are now from places like Redding & Weston, CT or Montclair & Maplewood, NJ. We don't know what we want to happen quite yet, but we know life will change. That's the only guarantee. And so the optimist in me looks forward to what I can control and be excited about. The pessimist worries about all I cannot contain. We'll see where we end up. I'm sure I'll blog about it.
