| I am halfway through a college course on Shakespeare. Linda Jo just finished studying the story of Hamlet in her high school English class. Perhaps this is why we were so enthused when she had the chance to try out for the talent show yesterday. There's nothing quite like the excitement of treading the boards, and for this tryout, she decided on a dance/comedy act, which was a breath of fresh air. Even better, she wanted her little sister in on the act...Daisy was on cloud nine! They had a lot of fun practicing together. The video of their tryout is below...Linda Jo is a frog and she's chasing Daisy, a fly. |
| I'll probably be posting again this weekend...catching up and keeping to my goal of writing every week. I'm finding myself too busy again and I don't like it, but I'm always hopeful that everything will calm down...perhaps that can happen after the senior prom preparations are finished. Linda Jo has definite ideas about how this event should go. The dream dress, shoes, accessories, a trip to see Suzette for the perfect hairdo, pretty nails...We were in Redding last week as she tried on dress after dress. Daisy and I passed the time by practicing her math skills. She is 7 years old and excited to be learning such things as multiplication. While Promzilla was in and out of the dressing room (finding herself attached to only the most expensive dresses, of course), Daisy wondered, "Mom, I know multiplication and division. I know about subtraction with borrowing. What comes after borrowing?" "Debt," I answered. Sitting there with Daisy gave her a chance to brag about all she knows. "Mom, I know how to count by 3's, too. Nana taught me." Hmmm...this was interesting! I wondered about my mother teaching this to Daisy. "She taught me just like Grandpa Tom taught her!" Uh oh! Now this was cause for concern... Yes, sure enough, Daisy began rattling off a new rhyme: "Three, six, nine, the pigs drank wine The monkey chewed tobacco on the streetcar line. The line broke, the monkey choked and they all went to heaven in a little row boat!" Ahh...very nice. Thanks, Grandpa Tom! "Well, isn't it wonderful that you remembered it all!" I said, hiding my dismay. "Should you recite it at school?" "Nooo," she shook her head. I remember a similar conversation with my own mother after Grandpa Tom changed the words of a fingerplay my sister and I learned at church. His new version of it seemed to stick with us much better than the original: Here's the church, Here's the steeple. Open the door, See all the dirty people!" Why is it that these things from 30 years ago stay with me and yet I cannot seem to remember yesterday's conversation or where I left my car keys? Stress, maybe? The best cure for it is a smile and I'm glad Linda Jo and Daisy provided it with their frog and fly routine. The crazy frog is dancing... That song is stuck in my head. |
| Daisy gets a hug from a parrot |
| If you haven't experienced seeing a Sign Stage Production, you are missing out! Adults and children of all ages had a real treat on Friday, April 3rd when deaf and hearing actors presented a play in American Sign Language (voice-overs were provided for the signing impaired). Daisy had a blast! She laughed so hard! She talked about the show all the way home, then had to call family members to tell them all about it. Be sure to see next year's production, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." |
| Here was another reason to smile... |