Dance Mom = Fail

Hannah had her first stage recital today.

I have been looking forward to this all month but also dreaded this day as it got closer.

After her recital tonight I have to leave again to drive to Verona, WI to attend the second set of classes for my Epic EHR Training. 

Friday night we noticed a hole in her pink tights so yesterday and this morning we were out trying to find a pair of pink tights that would match good enough for her to wear today.  It was annoying and I was stressed about it worrying that she would stick out and it would be obvious that she wasn't perfectly matched to the others but I kept telling myself "it could be worse - nobody will really notice the tights are a different color pink".

Well....it got worse.

We were suppose to drop her off back stage around 4:00 pm and her 'showtime' was set for around 4:25.  We planned to leave around 3:30 to assure that we would have enough time to get there (Fridley High School), park and find seats.

3:30 came and after a few minutes of reminding the girls to get their coats and boots on we were finally out of the house and on our way.  The GPS estimated our time of arrival to be around 4:03 pm.  Perfect.  We would probably shave those few minutes off while driving and would be there right on time.  About 10 minutes into our drive I started to get a nervous feeling.  It felt all too familiar.  I had this feeling before EVERY dance performance growing up....Will I remember the dance?  Will I remember where I am suppose to stand?  Will I remember to smile?  Is my hair done ok?  Is my makeup dark enough?  Did I remember my costume?  Did I remember my shoes?  

OH MY GOD I FORGOT HANNAH'S SHOES AND HER SKIRT!

I broke the news to Brian and after we just got done talking about how we were cutting it close we had to turn around and go back home to get the bag that I had forgotten.  The bag that was set next to the door so that we would remember.  SHOOT!

The whole way back we questioned if it was even worth it.

How could I have let this happen?!

I was sick.  Just sick.

We pulled up to the house and I ran in to grab the bag.  When I got back into the car, the GPS now told us that we would arrive around 4:18.  We are NEVER going to make it.

It was close to 4:00- all I could think about was that the rest of Hannah's class was already getting dropped off and we weren't even on our way yet.  I wanted to throw up.

I called her teacher, explained what happened and told her that we would be there as soon as we could.  Within minutes the text messages started....'Where are you guys sitting?  Should we save you a seat?  Looks like Hannah is on in 3 numbers!  Can't wait!'

OMG!  We were still in the car.

I looked back in the backseat to see how disappointed she was going to be when we didn't make it but she obviously wasn't concerned about the tension in the truck and had fallen asleep.

4:13 and we could see our destination flag on the GPS blowing in the distance- we had to be close. But I was afraid that we had already missed it.

What happens if we get there and they are already backstage?  I can't just throw her back there!

What if her group is on stage when we walk in the door?!  Oh man!  This SUCKS!

We pulled up around 4:15, Brian dropped us off near the front and we ran inside- seriously, ran.

My heart was pounding out of my chest and luckily we could see the other dancers when we walked in.  Someone from her group was walking around so either we missed it or they were still waiting for their turn.  When we met up with the rest of the group I was thrilled to see that they were still waiting for their turn.  I got her dressed, gave her a huge hug and kiss, apologized for rushing her (which she just responded with a very calm "It's Ok, mom") and then made my way to the front door to pick up Brian and Hailey (hoping that they would make it in after trying to find a place to park, etc). 

We were able to sit in the balcony and saw my family up there when we walked in the door.

We made it- Whew!

3 or 4 numbers later Hannah and her group were led out onto the stage.  The curtains opened and the music started.  The four original members of her group did great (this wasn't their first rodeo), the other four were a little hesitant but overall the group did great.

At intermission we were asked to pick up our dancer and then either make our way to our seats or we were free to go.  Since I was leaving tonight for Madison we decided to leave- we ended up having dinner with my family first.

We were able to meet up with Kiley and family during the intermission and Kiley gave Hannah one of her flowers (how sweet!).

Me:  "Buddy- you did so good today!  Were you nervous on that stage?"

Hannah:  "No.  Not at all.  There were like a million people there.  I counted them in my head while I was dancing.  I counted you guys last."

Great job today buddy!  I am SO sorry that we had such a hard time getting there today but I am SO proud of how good you did today!