High Maintenance

Just checkin' in to let you all know that I survived dance camp. All 2 weeks and all 8 hour days. As I look back on the last week's blogs you may feel that it was an extremely traumatic experience. All I can say is, blame it on the hormones, y'all. The truth is, I had a blast. It hurt so good. It pushed me in a way physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally that I haven't been pushed in a long time. And I needed it. My body needed the workout. My brain needed the creative challenge. My psyche needed to build some confidence. And at the end of the day, I just needed to dance. I was reminded that dancing is just part of who I am, even if I jiggle a little more now when I do it. :)

I cried a little, got frustrated a little, and stressed a little. But....I laughed A LOT! Man, it was fun to be with those girls, all 42 of them (over both weeks). From ages 4-12, they each came with their own personalities, strengths, and quirks. It was just a field day for this people analyzer. I had the 5 year old pageant queen who ruled the drama department. If she was squealing with laughter or creating a camp soap opera out of trouble with one of her friends, she did it big. We all knew about it. I had the older girl who was excellent with the little ones and was a great assistant. She's got "leader" written all over her. There were the sporty girls and the girly girls. The clingy little ones and the wanderers. We danced so much, but we also colored, ate goldfish and animal crackers like they were going out of style and celebrated two birthdays over the two weeks. We moaned about how sore we were and cheered when we got to do the peanut butter jelly song. At some point we all just wanted our Mama. :)

Friday was our show. We did one on the last day of both weeks. The first week was beyond chaotic. That was the day I banged my head into the shelf and was a little concerned I might go stand in the middle of the room and start singing "I'm a Little Teapot".  Thankfully, I didn't. Instead I rotated between the dance floor and the dressing room as the girls performed 5 dances and showed off their tumbling skills. Seriously. They amazed me. I cannot even put into words what it is like trying to get between 8, 4-6 year olds changed between each dance. We had them wear ballet skirts, shorts, t-shirts, stuff like that for different dances so they would get the idea about costuming. Honestly, by the time we had dress rehearsal I was ready to tell 'em all to just dance naked like David did in the Bible, but that wasn't optional. So we made it through the costume changes. This last Friday was a little less chaotic. We had more older girls and we did tap first so the major shoe changing happened in the beginning. I was so proud of my girls. I mean, during the week there were so many times I wanted to just bang my head on the mirror because I was pretty sure they weren't paying attention to a thing that was going on. But sure enough, you put them in front of a crowd and those girls PERFORMED! Just made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

I have to share a little secret. As my tiny, 4 year old student asked me one day, "Can I borrow your ear for a minute? I need to tell you something." This is it: Hip hop was totally my favorite. Barbie choreographed such a fun dance. It had some squatting and falling onto our sides and I was concerned I might need knee and hip replacement by the end of the week, but I didn't! In case you are having visions of this preacher's wife "shakin' that jelly", you don't have to worry that I was overly seductive or suggestive. Do you remember Carlton from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air? Yeah, he looks totally gansta compared to my hip-hop skills. :)

My Mom took this pic of me and Sarah at the end of the show. One of the girls told me on Thursday I looked tired. By Friday I looked practically comatose!!!!

If you are noticing Sarah's make-up, that is kind of what I was actually planning to blog about tonight. The day of the show we also did all of the girl's hair and make-up. We wanted them to experience "stage make-up", which is not to be confused with "streetwalker" make-up, if you're feelin' me. Stage make-up is very dramatic and bold so that you can be seen under all of the stage lights. And no, we weren't really on a stage with lights, but let's face it, it's just fun to do make-up. :)

All of the girls agreed. It did my heart so good this last Friday as the older girls gathered around and would oohh and ahhh and comment on how pretty everybody looked. Girls just need that. Many of the older girls were 11 and 12 and I remember being 12 and being allowed to get my first lipgloss and wear clear mascara. That was also the year I got contacts and so most of my getting ready memories are of me crawling around on the floor looking for my contacts that I was forever dropping.....

Being with those girls just made me remember what it felt like to be that age. The insecurity. The anticipation of "becoming a woman" and all of the make-up, hairspray and nail polish that would include. And I realized, in a lot of ways I am still 12. I am still waiting to figure out how the heck to make myself look the way I want to. Don't worry, this is not going to turn into a serious, self-esteem, meaning of life blog. This is a straight up, I want to know your tips and secrets.

I so remember being 12 and wanting to become one of those girls that was always so put together. The perfect make-up, not a hair out of place, always in the right outfit. You know the type? Well, I left to go do some shopping tonight and totally left my house without a smudge of make-up, my hair completely pulled back and wearing jeans and a t-shirt THAT HAD A TOOTHPASTE stain on it. Oh dear. I'm blaming it on exhaustion. But really, I need help. I was thinking about my favoritest movie of all time Miss Congeniality. You know the scene when she goes in and the whole team works on her? Yes. That is what I need. Waxing. Plucking. Highlighting. Lipsticking. Hairspraying. Manicuring. The whole shebang. I need a team, people!!!!

Unfortunately all I have is Kate ruining my mascara, Sarah using all of my nail polish and Eli asking me 85 questions while I get ready. So, please, I beg of you. What do you do to make yourself beautiful? Or, at least presentable?