Samantha's Dance Recital

Today, was a LONG day! It was Samantha's dance recital. Now, some may think, "a recital, how can that be a long day?" Well let me tell you, we left at 11:50 am and got home tonight at 7:00 PM. It was a long day. Especially for a father that has difficulty sitting in a dance recital.

We left for New London before lunch this morning. Samantha had to be backstage at 12:45 and we had to drop Jay off at a sitter for the day. If I would have difficulty sitting through the recital, Jay would have been a nightmare! We arrived a right on time after securing a parking space at the New London Corps...just a block from the venue, the Garde Arts Center.

Elaine and I dropped Sammi off at the back door stage entrance then took a walk down to the River. I took my camera as I hoped to grab a few pictures of some boats and if I was really lucky, a submarine coming in or leaving Sub base New London. I have always enjoyed living near the water and SE Connecticut is great in that regard. Its history is rich in maritime tradition starting with whaling, ship building and now, submarine building and support. Here are a few pictures of the Thames River and the mouth of the river which dumps into the Long Island Sound.

After short time on the pier, we began the walk back to the recital. I must say, I wanted to see Samantha, but I was going to have a hard time sitting for 3 hours watching 250 other kids perform. We found our seats, the lights dimmed and the show started.

After about an hour into the first act, I found myself beginning to drift. The dancing was good. Some of the groups are awesome, but for me, it was very hard to sit for so long in this environment. I broke the rules, and pulled my cell phone out and started texting my sister. Before I knew it, I had a second wind and was raring to go. The first act was finally over, and Sammi would soon be up in the 2nd Act.

When I saw Sam come out, I was incredibly proud. She looked so grown up and she moved in sync with her group. She is in a jazz group and she does quite well. I was a proud father and after she went, I began comparing her to the other groups as if to say, "Sam can do that!"

The time went by...slowly for the most part, but I must say, next year, I won't look at this with as much trepidation as I did this year. It helped that some kids from the corps were in several other groups, so I was able to pick them out from time to time. I have attached some pictures of Sam prior to the dress rehersal as photos were prohibited at the actual show. There is also some taken of her at the monument across the street from our house..

It was a good time overall. I got to know the father of the kids from the corps better. He does not attend, but their mother does. He is a retired submariner and currently a cop, so I had a lot to talk to him about over dinner at the Olive Garden. Perhaps a friendship can be made and he will join his family at the corps.

It was a good day. As I type this my little girl sleeps after a long day. She certainly deserves it!