This was our tenth. Ten years, Kylee McK has been dancing in the Champion Studio recital. Joey and I went to watch her the first time right before we were even married, when she still called him 'Ho-wee'. Back when she was doing just one dance, and we sat through an almost three-hour recital to see her dance for two minutes. Now, she's in several classes and dances several times. This year she danced in seven.
Friday night, while the boys headed to Ruidoso for a baseball tournament, I took her to Magoffin auditorium for her first dress rehearsal. We stopped at Subway to feed her before we went to feed her. As I was looking at her, I realized if she can already do her makeup like this...
...we are in big trouble!
She was at that dress rehearsal from 6:30 until 10 PM. I always worry about her being so tired and worn out that she can't function. When she came out at 10, she looked just as beautiful as she did at 6.
Then she had to be back at Magoffin at 8 a.m. Saturday morning until 2 p.m. Again, she came out just fine, but when we got home, she crashed, make up and all.
(Sorry for the picture quality. It's cropped a lot, as to not embarrass my daughter.)
Since the boys were gone, we just laid around, ate, and rented movies the rest of the day. Then Sunday, she made herself up
we picked up Katelyn to go with us to the recital, and had her back at Magoffin for the actual recital.
All of the grandparents came, and the boys were back for the recital, too. She danced every other dance, then had a longer break, then danced some more. You are not supposed to take pictures or video during the recital, never have been supposed to in all the ten years. But I noticed several people videoing...more than several, a LOT! So when she came out to do a little bit of her solo, I pulled out my camera.
Then I caught a little bit of her School's Out For Summer dance before getting the guilties and putting my camera away.
Not only did I have a case of the guilties, I just realized it's so much better NOT to be behind the camera and just sit back and watch. Right after I put the camera away, the chair Kylee was dancing with caught a seam on the stage and collapsed. And so did my dancer. The whole audience (and it's not a small one) gasped! One of the moms sitting in front of me even turned around and said, "Oh, my! Do you think she's okay?" Ever the performer, destined for Julliard for sure, my girl was still dancing...and smiling. Just when you think they can't make you prouder, they do! She had another dance after this one, with just one other act before it. She came back out, smiling and dancing her heart out. I was sure she was okay.
She performed the finale with all the other dancers, smiling, waving, and taking bows.
When I got to the stage where she was waiting for me, she looked so good.
I took this picture and then said, "Oh, Bug, you did so good!! But you scared me." She started bawling! I wasn't sure if she was hurt or mortified or both, but (how many times will I say this) I was so proud. I realized then, she had pulled it together for the sake of her performance. You probably know if you know my girl or have read my blog, she doesn't pull herself together all that well. But for dance, she does. And for dance, she did. I almost started crying, too. Instead, I pulled my mom voice out and said, "Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt?" She said her knee was really bothering her. But, once again in the same night, she pulled it together so I could get pictures of her with her dance teachers.
As I said, the grandparents were there and I wanted pictures of the four of us, but as we headed out of the auditorium, the more co-dancers that spoke to her, she lost it a little more. I just couldn't get myself to make her to pull it together yet again for pictures. We have pictures of her. We have pictures with her. And as much as I wanted some on that night, she had already pulled herself together for her dance team, for her dance teachers, and for her performance. I couldn't make her do it again. I always make her do it. I'm always saying, "Suck it up. Pull yourself together. Kylee, please." I couldn't do it to her after she had sucked it up and pulled it together so well on this night. So I didn't get family pictures. She actually wanted this picture of her and Katelyn,
but even in it, you can see the tears.
When we get the dvd and pictures, there will be so much more to see, as always. Then the focus will not be on the slip, on the tears. That was about half a second out of a whole weekend of great moments, great dances, great smiles, and an amazing dancer. My dancer. Until next year...
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