To all you professional bloggers with families and full-time jobs, my hat goes off to you. Ya girl has been STRUGGLIN! I told myself this would be my season of performing, which it thankfully is. But that means carving time out of work time, teaching time, mom-ing time, wife-ing time, rehearsal time, EXTRA rehearsal time, and training time to WRITE….. Basically impossible lol. I’ve got four big gigs, a choreography camp for my students, and a family vacation coming up and I feel my neatly-crafted schedule slipping away inch by inch. It’s easy to start to feel as if I’m failing at being “The Mom Who Can Do It All”, especially when there are dishes in the sink, and three loads of laundry to fold, the kids’ room is always a mess, we’ve been eating spaghetti for dinner for a week, I can’t even tell you the last time I cooked a full breakfast for my family, and we’re not even going to mention the 2 year old who needs to be potty trained. There is so much to be done when you wear so many hats. I know so many of you all can relate. But the beautiful and liberating part about it is: the only person who expects me to do it all is…. Me. And if it doesn’t get done today, they’ll live, trust me.
Right now, I’m choosing to focus my energy and intentions on my passion. Putting my best foot forward in order to make it all worth while. Have you ever heard the saying, “Jack of all trades, master of none?” That’s not what I want for my life at all. Constantly giving a tiny bit of myself to a million things and never giving all of myself to a few important things. So if we have to have Coney dogs for dinner a few days (July is 99¢ Coney month at Kerby's), they’ll live. If the dishes are in the sink overnight, they’ll live. If the kids have to sit at the studio for a few extra hours, they’ll live. If it’s pb&j for breakfast again today, they’ll live. It’s all ok. And there is more than one pay off. By remaining diligent in my own training in preparation for important events, I’m able to model and teach my children through example what it looks like to work hard and be diligent. How to take your challenges home and work on them until they are triumphs. How to push through when your body hurts, and your sleepy, and hungry, and smelly and all you want is a shower, a sandwich, and a nap…. But you run it one more time just to make sure you’ve got it. These are the lessons I think are most important for my daughter and son to see and learn. Perseverance, determination, and hard work when things don’t come easily.
Let me tell you, Dancing Over 30 isn’t just a catchy title for a blog. There is most definitely a difference in performing at 20 and performing at 32. My body is not as strong as it used to be when all I did was take class, rehearse, and perform ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. I’ve had to work to build my stamina and I’ve had to work on strengthening my feet for the pointe work I’m doing. I’ve had to stretch every night and go over choreography on a daily basis. It’s a lot more involved than it used to be. But I feel ALIVE! I feel like ME! I feel PROUD! And now, in being prepared mental and physically, I’m confident that I will be able to present my absolute best work in my upcoming performances and feel great about the outcome. YES! These are the lessons I want to teach my children. Character, determination, hard work, perseverance, and… the pay off! Thankful for the opportunity!
**Check out the PERFORMANCE page for more info on shows and tickets**
My Goals Leading Up to Performance:
Go over ALL choreography EVERY DAY
Stretch before bed
Relevés while I brush my teeth (to strengthen my feet and legs)
DRINK MORE WATER
Smoothies in the morning to incorporate more green foods in my diet
Salad everyday at lunch (skip the ranch, go for the vinaigrette)
Take as many classes as possible
Take ballet class en pointe
Take class while I teach class
CARE FOR MY BODY WHEN I GET HOME (soak and massage my feet and legs, long warm showers, stretch, stretch, STRETCH)
*As I’ve adopted these practices for myself in preparation for these shows, I’ve noticed my daughter (who is also a brilliant dancer) watch out of the side of her eye. She, too, is finding times to stretch at home or work on her own goals. #Goals
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