Saturday, May 13, 2023

Dancing


Once again the rattlesnake beans are showing their strong and prolific nature, putting out beans in clumps of many. I picked some just a little while ago and although I knew there were quite a few out there, I had no idea I would get as many as I did. 


They are still very young and tender which is exactly what I wanted because I am going to make us a Nicoise Salad for our supper later on. Another banana pepper was ready to pick and those three little yellow cherry tomatoes and another pocketful of peas. Oh- and a bit of basil for the salad. 

Today was pretty dang exciting. 
As you may or may not remember, August has been taking tap and ballet on Saturdays and today was the recital. August's dance classes are at a much smaller school than Maggie's and Gibson's are and whereas their recitals are like major Broadway productions with thousands of people in attendance (I am not making this up), August's recital was much smaller and shorter too which, well- let us be honest- is not always a bad thing when it comes to recitals. I mean, all the kids are great but your own personal kid or grandkid or nephew or niece or whatever is only going to be onstage for a fraction of the time that the show takes. And I do always love Maggie's and Gibson's recitals, but still...
Sitting for that long gets to be a pain in the butt after awhile. I am not used to it. 
However, watching the show today was certainly a fine way to spend an afternoon. The littlest ones are always so damn cute, especially when they forget to dance or sit down in the middle of things or turn around and just look at the screen behind them and some of the children were so young that I swear I think they must have had diapers on under those tutus. I'm not sure they were old enough to really speak human yet. But they all did a great job and everyone ooh-ed and aah-ed and clapped and cheered. 
One group of older girls dancing actually made me cry. Their dance was so sweet and poignant. 
But- it's August we came here to talk about and y'all- he was really good! He had the steps and hand motions together and he looked like he was having a great time. 
Here he is in his role in the The Sugar Plum Fairy.


And for the tap number, he was a soda jerk in a piece called Shake


Our boy! 

The whole thing brought tears to my eyes. As I told Jessie, these moments happen and they go by so fast and then they never happen again and if you're lucky, you'll remember. 

Mr. Moon and I had not had our lunch and neither had Vergil so we all went to a local burger place after the performance which served milkshakes which seemed the appropriate treat after that last piece. I, being not very smart, got another fish sandwich. You'd think I'd learn. It was cooked at least, albeit too much. It was also way too salty and it was nowhere near fresh although possibly fresh-ish from the freezer. 
But the milkshakes made the boys happy and they were the real deal with tons of ice cream and fresh strawberries in them. Mr. Moon got one of those too. 

Next Saturday will be Magnolia's recital. Gibson decided not to take dance again this year despite the fact that he was definitely the audience favorite in his performance in the hip-hop numbers last year. And that will be a whole other situation and it will be fun too. 

So tomorrow is Mother's Day which I really do not care much about. I just talked to Lis about this. First off, my relationship with my mother was so fraught that I'm sure my attitude was a bit warped there. And besides that, it seems to me that there is absolutely nothing anyone can do to show the true appreciation a woman deserves after creating life within her body and then pushing it out into the world. Or having it surgically removed from her womb. Or, alternately, being a mother to stepchildren or adopted kids if it's done with love and responsibility. 
You just cannot. But that is the fate of being a mother and although it is lovely to be told how much I am loved by my children, I truly think I already know this. I do not doubt their love just as I hope they do not doubt mine. 
Now. Having said this, I honestly want Lily and Jessie to get at least a small bit of the love and attention they deserve tomorrow. As I would want all mothers to get. But somehow, I don't care about all of that when it comes to my personal self. The joy I have experienced from the moment I laid eyes on all of them is nothing that anything can come close to. Not flowers, not candy, not even a ham dinner with angel biscuits. 

As we sat in the auditorium today watching our grandchild dance, I thought once again about how a chance meeting between a man and a woman who go on to fall in lust and in love leads to lives never imagined by either. And once again I questioned and blessed Mother Nature for making this the way of it. 
Such a tricky bitch she is. Throw in evolution and there is no way to escape the dance of love enchantment that leads to so much more love. 

Oh god. Here we are. 
Thank goodness. 

Love...Ms. Moon





26 comments:

  1. Regardless of what you do tomorrow, I hope you have a lovely Mother's Day with what ever your kids gift you with! ❤💌

    ReplyDelete
  2. Two of my lads danced when they were little. I love seeing little boys dance. They are so uninhibited.
    I feel the same as you regarding mother's day. I think it should be for the mums of little ones and the gifts should be handmade by said little ones and the day should be about giving mum a break. None of this over commercialism.
    I am glad you and Mr Moon met and fell in lust.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! I think August loved it and I don't think he had one molecule of stage fright. He just saw it as an awesome adventure.
      You're right about the moms of little ones but it's nice when the grown kids call and tell me they love me too.
      I'm mighty glad Mr. Moon and I met and fell in lust too!

      Delete
  3. I like August's presence on the dance floor and in the dance.

    ReplyDelete
  4. August is such a cool kid! they all are pretty much but august taps to his own drummer, love the lad! Mother's day is complicated .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. August does indeed tap to his own drummer and the glory of it is that he doesn't even realize there are any other drummers! He is who he is and it's beautiful.
      Mother's Day can be mighty complicated. You're right.

      Delete
  5. Well, happy mother's day to you! I am back from my son Oliver's college graduation and already feeling blue that they're all grown up now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't that a mind-fuck? But you know what? They will always be your babies, no matter what and you will always be their mommy.

      Delete
  6. You have these photos of August now so you will remember this day forever. I don't care much for Mother's Day for myself either but I'm happy the kids do the flowers and breakfast in bed thing for their wives.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good home training! Yes. Treat the mamas sweetly!

      Delete
  7. I love August in the Soda Jerk picture!!! But don't these teachers have the patience of saints to do what they do with such small children!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I could not do it for all the tea in china as MY mother used to say.

      Delete
  8. Happy mothers day, however you celebrate! It's okay to celebrate yourself. Kids recitals are to my mind, too stressful all round. Okay for extroverts maybe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well I think that August just loved his time on stage! And when they're that young, if they're digging it then it's pretty much all so sweet. I hear what you're saying though. Recitals can have some painful moments in them.

      Delete
  9. 37paddington: happy Mother’s Day dear Mary. I find having no expectations is always best for these Hallmark holidays. They overwhelm me. Everyone and everything is posting beatitudes and I often don’t feel any of it. So I just take it as another day usually. If we do something diff and special I enjoy it. If we don’t that’s fine too. August has stage presence!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As you well know, holidays in general overwhelm me. But when it comes to Mother's Day, I just do as you do- take it as it comes. And that has worked out well today.

      Delete
  10. August looks so confident in that tap number -- and I love the look he's sharing with the girl in the ballet. He seems like quite the little performer.

    I didn't do a thing for Mother's Day this year. I feel guilty about it and yet my mother wouldn't even be aware if I did. I am going to talk to my brother later about the latest updates on her condition, which I suppose counts for something.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, really Steve- there was nothing you really could have done that would have gotten through to your sweet mama. So yes, talking to your brother about any updates is exactly what a good son should do.
      I think August was having a blast!

      Delete
  11. I'm not a fan of mother's day, it's always a disappointment I find, which says something about me, more than anything.

    August looks fantastic and even more importantly, he looks like he's enjoying himself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Holidays in general can just be shite, can't they?
      I really do think that August was loving it.

      Delete
  12. How nice that you can go watch him perform! Those are moments to treasure as they pass by so quickly as you know already!
    Happy Mother's Day to you, Mary. How kindly you have mothered so many in your life! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You know what, Ellen? I absolutely love what you said about mothering kindly. I think that's what I would want my children to remember. Thank you!

      Delete
  13. Yay for August. I think it's a shame that boys are ridiculed for doing things that are considered girly. why on earth is movement and dance not masculine? it takes strength and stamina. I wonder if Gibson's decision to stop taking dance is a result of intentional or unintentional cultural pressure.

    I feel the same way as you do about Mother's Day and for basically the same reasons. It was never a big deal at our house even when the kids were young as Marc was/isn't the type to make a big deal of it or any holiday or birthday. his mother abandoned him and his siblings when he was 9 and his father, well, we won't go there right now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know exactly why Gibson gave up hip-hop. He was so darling in it. But whatever it was, it was his decision. And who knows? August may decide he'd rather play the tuba next year. Levon has no interest in dance although he did enjoy watching the recital.
      Mother's Day is pretty much all on the dad, isn't it? And that is not really so very fair and if the dad just isn't that kind of guy or doesn't have that sort of background- well- so be it.

      Delete

Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.