Dance Concert - There and Back Again
Our roadtrips are getting longer. Last month we drove 2 1/2 hours to Richmond. What turned into 6 hours down to Lynchburg and about 5 back was a bit more challenging and caused the need for some schedule recovery once we got home.
Around noon on the 8th we left and Sara Ellen was asleep. We took 95 to Frederickburg, VA. That should take about 1 1/2 hours but took almost three because after a while in the HOV lane, we caught up to all the other people using it as we merged the two lanes into one and then into the main highway. Naturally, Sara Ellen woke up and I went back to feed her (it does take some maneuvering ;)). I think she fell back to sleep before we stopped for sustenance. I entertained her for the next hour or more before she went to sleep again. She woke up around six when we arrived at the hotel and was awake for the next FIVE hours!! A normal day for her is awake 2 hours, nap up to 2 hours if I nap with her, otherwise it’s 30 minutes to 1 hour.
I wasn’t sure how loud it would be and it probably was too much for her but she wouldn’t fall asleep nursing in the auditorium or in the hallway, and walking didn’t put her to sleep. Tim and I traded on and off walking her while the other watched the concert. He let me watch the last two pieces and she was very unhappy when I came out. She needed Mommy as we recognized because she quieted down once I got her and bounced a little. In the car she actually fell almost instantly asleep but once back at the hotel it still took a lit bit to fall asleep.
The concert was great, I ordered the DVD and received it today. I didn’t see any classmates but two older (Mary Katherine [Dick] ‘00 who now has 3 kids and Sarah [Merida] ‘00 who married a man named Bill or Bob, sorry :oops:) and more younger (Tracy, Katherine, Avery, and Lauren - ‘04). Tracy is teaching locally. Katherine is now an admissions counselor at R-MWC and actually danced in a ballet piece. Avery is interning in Georgia after teaching English in the Czech Republic. Lauren is teaching locally at VES but I can’t remember the other things she mentioned, maybe teaching dance. She had some amazing news though, she became a Christian in the last year! I was brought to tears when she said she thought about me a lot and how I showed that dancing and praising God do mix. She is dating a man who is studying to become a pastor.
I saw Pam and Hiawatha of course, plus Kelly Malone-Dudley ‘95 who is now an adjunct professor there. Her bio said she will be teaching a regular jazz class. I think that’s awesome because one week of Jump Rhythm isn’t really enough for it to soak in. Some people may not like that because JRJP is not your typical jazz, it actually uses jazz music and Billy’s choreography reflects the beats and subtle or no-so-subtle off-beats of the music.
I think Kaitlyn, Briana, and Meaghan are the majors. Kaitlyn and Briana worked on one piece together which was awesome. Meaghan’s was beautiful. Genia Melikova died in 2004 so that year had her final piece. I don’t know yet about last year but this year there was a new ballet choreographer who did a pretty piece to new agey music from Pure Moods. Delia, Doug, Walter, Becky, and Diane had also set pieces. Becky was around but I didn’t get a chance to say hi. Diane was really cute, using the quirky music from “Triplets from Belleville”. There was also a great one called “Hungarian Hip Hop” put together by the dancers (Briana and the Johnson girls), Pam and Kelly. It was a huge hit. There was another modern piece by a choreographer I don’t know.
I’ve asked Hiawatha to send me copies of the 2004 and 2005 concerts.
Sunday we ate what to turned out to be a mediocre breakfast at the hotel and Tim had several phone conversations before getting the wireless internet connection to work. Before we checked out, plans were made with Brooke, Christy-Lynne and the Joneses. It was a busy day. First we drove to see Christy-Lynne and Josh (and 19 mo Makenzie). They own land on the outskirts of Lynchburg. Christy-Lynne owns a horse and boards another. They plan to build a house on the land asap. We had steamed cheeseburgers (Christy thought I’d have heard of them but is must be a CT thing) and chatted for an hour. Then we drove back near R-MWC to visit the Joneses at their cute house. We met up and left them a little off schedule and then saw Brooke in her and Chris’ cute little house (near-ish the mall) and made our way out from their after over an hour. Sara Ellen did considerably well being in an out of the car. I sat with her the whole trip back and that evening and Monday were a little challenging getting her back on schedule.
I kept telling people I’d be back in town during the summer as I help Sara get ready for her wedding. I hadn’t thought about it but Tim won’t be making those trips with me. I don’t really want to do that alone. The train that goes between DC and there only runs at one time of day (5:30am north and 7:45pm south) but I think it would be easier. I’d want to get a second car seat, one with a handle as we’d need one while driving around in Sara’s little Geo.
It’s nice being able to go back to school, driving around Lynchburg, it feels like going home. The only pictures I got were of Sara Ellen eating a lamintaed map while we traveled but I’ll get that up sometime.
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