Girl's Night Out

To My Most Amiable Readers,

Last night I had the wonderful opportunity to bring my little girl to her first ballet, The Nutcracker. We got all dressed up in black and white with matching bracelets, and one beaded purse full of "chew-chew gum" and "lips" (lip gloss). Friends helped us find good seats right in the middle and then began the magic.
Sophia was rapt with attention as the dark red curtains parted and the music swelled. Then out of all directions burst forth little ballerinas in butterfly costumes. I've never seen her attention so fixed. Then came bears and then cats with long tails and claws, stretching and prowling all over the stage. And this was just the pre-presentation!
She was especially overcome to see that four of her friends were up there dancing; our coworker's children. Sophia was always the first to start clapping when anyone bowed, and she barely restrained herself from standing on her seat.
One thing did confuse her though; each time she got off her seat it went sailing up into itself. She would look at me accusingly and tell me "No Mommy! Don't do that!". This much amused an elderly lady seated next to her.
Sophia had such a good time, and it was fun for me to see the ballet through her child's eyes and reactions. She was especially astounded with my generosity of "chew-chew gum". Each time it lost flavor I'd give her a "fresh" one. Sometimes you've got to spoil them.
As the performance came to an end, they had a time for passing out awards and graduation certificates to the ballerinas. There had to have been more than seven "Sophias" that were called forth, and each time Sophia would turn to me wide-eyed and asked if she could go up. As we got up to leave a veritable storm cloud fell over my little one's countenance....
"NO MOMMY! I'm not going home! I'm going to go up there! And dancing, ME, Sophia!" Oh how mad she was; she had figured in her mind that she would get a turn too. I tried to explain that you have to take classes first before you can dance in the ballet, but to no avail. On the verge of tears she trudged along behind me. She perked up a bit in the lobby while we waited for Daddy to pick us up. Why? Because I asked her to dance for me.

Your Most Devoted, Sarah