A Debut

Last night was a big night for La Nina and seven of her friends. After four months of practice and much angst over her costumes, La Nina and the magnificent seven made their Nutcracker debut as Gingerbreads in the local production.
I was a novice to one of these productions and the amount of work it takes every family to stage this show amazed me. I thought I'd write my own ode to having a child appear in the Nutcracker. You know the tune...

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, one perfect show.

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, two cookie dances. (Shows in which La NIna will appear)

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me, three back up tights. (xtra tights I took last night)

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, four mismatched hems. (Attempts at hemming the costume before I called in professionals help)

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a five mile drive. (miles to practice studio...we live than two miles from the studio we usually practice at.)

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, six hours back stage. (hours back stage last night for a two minute appearance)

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, seven helmet adjustments. (number of times La Nina pushed her head piece out of her face while on stage.)

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eight little dancers. (Number of Gingerbreads in La Nina's cast.)

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, nine backstage buns. (La Nina's hair fell out backstage, number of attempts to get it back in a bun.)

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, ten minutes "shhh-ing" moms. (Backstage parents had to keep the kids quiet.)

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eleven crying kids. (Number of melted down dancers....it was mice, soldiers and mints....thankfully, the Gingerbreads held up well.)

On the twelth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, twelve hours of practice. (Extra classes held since August.)