Fairy Ballet Fish

A few months ago, I looked at my summer calendar.  It was pretty empty and I figured I should probably sign Cally up for a few different things to do with kids her age (since we wouldn't have any childcare).  I perused the options (thanks to a great website called "findandgoseek" which lists all the possible day camps in the area).  As a working mom, I have this nagging worry that my kids are going to miss out on all those little classes and things that I was able to do as a kid because I had a stay-at-home mom.

John has been bringing Cal to swim lessons all spring, but I have an almost irrational fear of my kids being around water and not knowing how to swim so I did try to sign her up for more lessons at a neighboring towns pool, but was put on a waiting list.  I then looked into various "movement classes" (a.k.a. dance).  A bunch of options involved one day a week throughout the entire summer.  I knew that wouldn't work.  And then I found a week long "camp" at a local ballet theater company.  It was an hour a day and the theme was "Fairy Ballet".  So, in a moment of weakness I signed Cal up.  And then I forgot about it for a while.

 

As it turns out, I had an opportunity to do some per diem work during the same week that Cal was signed up for this camp.  John volunteered to take her the first day and we both scratched our heads on Sunday night wondering what she should wear (there was no information on the website nor letter in the mail).  Cal has a hand-me-down lime green leotard from our friend Claire's days in the Vermont Ballet Theater, so I figured that would do. Cally, proudly wore the over sized leotard with her underwear showing.

Off they went for the 9:30 class.  I told John he and Hazey could go grocery shopping or do some errands while Cal was in class.  It turns out that a) parents can't leave during class in case a kid needs to go to the bathroom b) all kids need ballet slippers and c) all the other kids wore pink leotards and white tights.

John begrudgingly purchased the ballet slippers, but neither of us felt inclined to purchase tights or a pink leotard-- and so she wore the blue and green ballerina dress that John purchased at Costco during a moment of weakness with a pair of snowman tights that her aunt bought her for X-mas.

By Wednesday John was doing a bun in Cal's hair before class.  He was in, hook, line and sinker.

I got to be the ballet parent on Thursday and Friday.  They actually don't let the parents in during the class and they block out the door window with paper.  I'm not exactly sure what went on in there for the hour, but on Friday the parents were invited to a mini recital.  Cal was having a ball, but I'm pretty sure that ballet is not her calling-- focus was sort of lacking-- even when just compared to the other 3 and 4 year olds in her class and she doesn't exactly have the genetics in her favor......

Whatever is the case, she had fun, and she showed a lot of independence by just doing it everyday.  As I watched the 40 girls there doing "intensive ballet" program (five weeks of ballet from 9-4pm) and listened to a colleague tell me that they spent their daughters college tuition on ballet only to have her quit her senior year in high school,  I sort of wondered what I was smoking when I even thought it was a good idea to sign Cal up for this......... For now, I think we are safe.

 

 

   

And to make the week even crazier, Cal ended up getting in off the waitlist for swim lessons at the local pool.  So, an hour after Fairy Ballet Camp, she had a 1/2 hour swim lesson.  This meant that  this guy to get dragged around to all these places:

 

Fortunately, he was able to rally for the Ballet class, but he usually fell asleep en route to swimming lessons.  And the other confounding factor was the weather.  With temperatures barely getting into the 60's and rainy for two of the days of lessons, we really made a point of not pushing Cal to go (and even thought about skipping it one day), but she insisted on going.  

 

 And fortunately, by Friday, the sun was shining and pool more inviting. She's loving the lessons, not really swimming yet, but so much more comfortable in the water.

 Witnessing all this insanity was John's old friend Michael, who came to visit from Denmark.  John and Mic met in Greenland when John was on the Viking boat.  Michael ended up staying with John in Huntington for a few months back in 1998 and they bonded playing obscure card games.  Unfortunately, Micheal arrived on Monday just as the rain began and the sun did not come out again until he left on Thursday!?!?!?  I guess Danes are used to overcast weather, but it still was a shame.

 

 

Michael and his wife, Fee, have two little boys (age 4 and 6) and he rolled with and witnessed Fairy Ballet Camp, swim lessons, a trip to Montpelier, an attempted dinner out, a canoe trip down the Huntington River, errands, melt downs, and ice cream cones.   And with the rain, cold temps, and loud children, he claims to still love Vermont and to have had a great time.  

Phew!  Now I'm ready to slow down and relax and enjoy our summer.