The Dragon Is Dead

 As the final curtain closed on Once Upon a Time, Sarah Robinette, the creative genius behind it, raised her arms in the air and gave a cheer.  It was a wonderful recital, and I'm sad to see it end, but it was time.  All the teachers were getting a little emotional by the end.  I had a mom come to me about a loose flower on her daughter's crown.  I grabbed the crown, ripped off the flower and said, "There.  Nobody can see the flowers anyway."  It was a mom I worked with on Peter Pan, so she knew I wasn't a hostile sociopath.  I just play one backstage.

And that was before one of my little dancers had a panic attack right before she went onstage.  This is the darling little girl who forgot to take her big, red Crocs off before she went on during dress rehearsal.  Plowing around the stage in big, rubber shoes had probably stressed her out.  I hugged and encouraged her, saying we would call her mom right after the dance, but she couldn't breathe!  Kenzie, Lisa and Danielle rushed over and surrounded her, wrapping her in their arms, calming her and even saying a prayer with her.  It worked, and she was able to do her part, but she still felt miserable afterwards. Ruby ran to get her a Sprite, Sarah helped me locate a cell number for her mom, and Mom came running.  Brave little girl!  The teachers were awesome to jump in and encourage this one girl among hundreds.  I appreciate their help.

By the time I had helped Golda, Ruby and Lexie through three costume changes each, some with only seconds to complete, I was delirious.  Lexie rolled onto the stage at the very last second for Seaweed, while I was still arranging her flowing leaves.  Phew!  Golda, Ruby and Lexie dancing together in Seaweed was one of my favorite parts of the recital.  All that emotion is probably why I started crying when the Little Match Girl died and was led away by the stars.  It was a beautiful moment among many.

There were so many funny quotes, it kept us all in stitches all the way home every night.  Our favorite was:  "Dry Ice?"  "GASP!"  "Okaaaay."  The fact that it was so funny shows how tired everyone was!  On the last night, as we were roaring with laughter in the car, flashing red lights appeared right behind me.  When the cop came up to the window, he asked how many people I had in the car.  I was tempted to say, "Well, there are three Seaweeds, a cute little Mouse, a Village Girl, a dragon's liver and a kid who just wanted to see the magician."  But then I would have been asked to say the alphabet backwards, and I can't do that, or walk a straight line, and I'm not sure I could have done that either, as loopy as I was.  Finally, we got a warning for a broken headlight and went on our way to Yogo Togo, where all good things end deliciously.  Until next year, here's to happy ever after...

For a birthday treat, I parked Freestone with my class where he could watch the magician with the dancers.  He saw both magicians.  He loved it!  I told him not to let anyone put him in a tutu and push him onstage.  Free thought that was hilarious.