Dance

Nat went to her first tap lesson yesterday. We call it "tap-dancing school." When we got there, the room was full of little girls who not only had tap shoes, but were variously outfitted in everything from purple leotards to glittery pink tulle tutus. I was glad I put Nat in a girly blouse, even if she was also wearing cargo-style boy shorts. And I was glad she had the shoes.

I was also glad Nat doesn't bug us to let her wear glittery pink tulle tutus. Nat is still quite catholic in her clothing tastes, enjoying whatever we tell her looks fabulous (everything), from dresses to overalls. She has strong color preferences yet, either. Every mom doesn't have it so easy, I know. I imagine Nat will hit a picky clothing phase at some point, but so far, no problems.

The teacher, one "Mr. Mike" kicked all the parents out of the classroom into the hall to wait. I understood completely why he did it (I would have done it if I were him, too), but we were not sure what Nat's reaction would be, since she didn't know a soul in the room.

She stood at the end of the row of little girls closest to the door the parents were hovering around, so we could peek at her. Here is Cole peeking and exclaiming, "She's doing it!" "It" being, standing in the line in front of a mirror and marching rhythmically in place along with Mr. Mike:

Whenever I peeked, it seemed all that was happening was Mr. Mike was rounding up little girls in tutus and returning them to line while Nat watched, wide-eyed at their gall to disobey him in the first place.

I think maybe 30 minutes would work a bit better than 45 for a dozen 3-year olds in tap shoes. But Nat had a blast and can't wait to go back.

Then this morning, at our playground, we bumped into L from tap class and her mother, N. Turns out they are neighbors and L's mom and dad are both actors at a neighborhood theatre.

We have moved from a small town to a small neighborhood. We are still loving it, in spite of the drawbacks of living in the home of a child-free artist. Here is a list of things we don't have:

- a garbage disposal
- a dishwasher
- an oven
- a kitchen door (read: kids underfoot while washing dishes/cooking/cleaning/tea-making)
- a pilot light on the stove (needs a match)
- a shower (tub with shower sprayer)
- residential zoning (this place was really just a big garage when M moved in)
- reliable Internet (it goes in and out unpredictably all day)
- a washer/dryer (it's broken but we're getting a replacement next week)
- water pressure (sometimes rinsing the shampoo out of my hair takes half an hour)

Yesterday, after lighting the stove to boil some macaroni while I washed dishes, Cole told me "this is as close to camping as you will ever get me!"

Funny, I had been thinking the same thing. Cole is not outdoorsy.

It's all worth it for the community and the neighborhood. Meanwhile we continue to shop for a permanent place. Nothing yet. I'll keep you posted.

Speaking of posting, if you go here you can see all my recent posts at Strollerderby. There should be a bio there soon, too. Please go early and go often. Part of the pay system depends on post views. In short, the more you read, the more tap lessons Nat gets!

I'm already getting yelled at a little in the comments, but in this case, I truly don't mind, because it's Shannon Lite, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I know it's not impermeable, in-depth brilliance. It's not going to be. That's not what the site is about and I am posting many times per day (or will be when I get a more reliable baby sitter and can go use the wireless in a cafe where it stays on all the time, unlike home). I still think they could have hauled the mother off the baby without tasering her, though. I'm not budging from that ground.

Comments

[Lis]

I'm having a problem viewing your new writing - the site automatically forwards me to the Australian babblebaby.com homepage, and although I tried, I can't work out how to stop it or find your work. Any ideas?

[mijk]

I love the picture of Cole. It is a perfect parent tries to let go picture.

[Donita]

I can totally see Nat, wide-eyed at the other students - daring to not listen! hee hee

[van]

I'm having the same problem as Lis - I'm in Australian too - so frustrating because I'd love to read your new column! The babblebaby Australian site seems like a very pared down version of the US site and I can't find your writing on it.