Perfect Eleven

I found out today that when an eleven-year-old has a perfect day, it is nothing short of sublime. Maybe you remember being eleven: the angst, the anxiety of not having a clue about the threshold you feel beneath your feet. Hence, much eye-rolling and storming out of rooms.

Well, there was none of that today. For months, Golda has been wringing her hands, making lists, practicing steps late at night in her room...all for Nutcracker auditions. Ruby took the opposite tack. Nonchalant and unruffled. Today was the day, and boy was I steeled for some drama. Instead, it was like boarding up the house for a hurricane, then stepping outside to a blue, cloudless sky. Here's what constitutes a perfect day, at least to one girl on the planet:

1. Passing off everything at flute. A good sign!

2. Having Mom do the best bun of her life in your hair. It rocked!

3. On the way to your own Nutcracker tryout, getting a call from your favorite cousin that she made the Ballet West Nutcracker!! Lexie, we're so proud of you! Golda took that as a sign that the stars were aligned, and nothing could go wrong from that point on.

4. Having a ballet bag you made yourself from Christmas fabric to take to the audition. Holiday vibe: very important.

5. Seeing the words on your result slip that you hoped for, dreamed about, envisioned; "Please come to Studio D for a Clara callback at 5 pm today."

6. Having your dad wait around in the ballet alley when you thought he was on his way to the Utah game. Knowing you're more exciting to him than a football game.

7. Being there to see Ruby's face when she came out of her audition and knowing she got a part, too. Good job, Ruby!! Yes, I knew you'd make it!! :)

8. Feeling like you did your best at the callback, and having fun doing it. Loving it, in fact. Knowing that only 8 girls got the callback for the lead part, out of 130.

Tonight I found Golda on the front porch, staring at the moon. Agonizing, probably, about how she won't find out who got the part of Clara until Monday night. Wringing her hands. Going over steps in her mind. She said she was thinking about Nutcracker. I told her, "The die is cast and all there is to do is wait." She rolled her eyes, but smiled. So she's the same girl, but different in some incremental way. I'm proud of her for setting her sights on that Clara callback, and relieved that today, today, her prayers were answered.

Some say there's no such thing as perfection.

When you're eleven, that's just not true. And we will always remember this day as proof.