We Came, We Saw, We Riverdanced

I'm sorry for the quality of those pictures, but you get the idea. My camera (yes, I'm still using the same one I've been complaining about for at least two years) has the uncanny ability to know when an event is important, meaningful, and once-in-a-lifetime. Then it stubbornly refuses to cooperate. I don't know how many shots I took and every single one was blurry. Yet the day or so before when I stood in the kitchen and took about 17 shots of Henry and Margaret (as we have named our mourning doves) it worked perfectly.

Ah, Riverdance. It was everything we hoped for.

We got to our seats around 7:20 with the show starting at 7:30. Everyone with small children knows how imperative it is to not get to any event too early so that they have to wait. Lucy sat next to me, and Elaine settled herself on my lap (by the way, I love this theater for that. When Darren bought the tickets, they told him he didn't need to buy her one since she could just sit on a lap, which she probably would have done anyway even had we bought her ticket. Not all venues are like that). She turned to me and said, "Are we going to dance, Mom?"

"No," I answered, envisioning the potential if the girls were under the mistaken impression that they were going to dance as well. "We're going to enjoy watching the Riverdancers. And you're also not going to kick the seats in front of us like you do in the car while you listen to the soundtrack."

She silently digested this piece of information. She turned to me and said, "Are we going to dance?" Apparently my original answer was not to her satisfaction.

"No, we're not supposed to dance. We're supposed to watch. I'll bounce you on my lap to the music though, and it will be a lot like dancing."

Are you going to dance, Mom?" she persisted. "Is Daddy going to dance?"

Just then the lights went down.

"Reel Around the Sun" is probably the girls' favorite, and it's the opener. They were absolutely mesmerized. And did not kick, fortunately.

It's been awhile since I've seen this show live, and it just blew me away afresh. The girls loved the fiddler who happened to look a lot like our music minister at church who also plays the violin. Elaine is convinced that that was Mr. Josh up there, moonlighting at Riverdance apparently.

At intermission, I asked our friend Angie, who went with us, "How do you like it?"

"I LOVE it!" she said. "I love everything about it. I saw parts of it on TV, but this is unbelievable!"

"Just wait until the second half," I told her.

"Yeah," said Lucy, "That's when they do 'Trading Taps'!"

During the intermission, Darren took Elaine out for a drink of water. Angie gave Lucy a piece of gum. Darren and Elaine returned, she got back on my lap, and the houselights dimmed again. Then, she smelled a telltale fragrance. And saw Lucy chewing.

"What you got?" she asked in a piercing whisper. "You got gum?"

Lucy nodded, engrossed in the show. This, as my father would say, precipitated a crisis. Elaine could not let that go.

"How did Lucy get gum?" she whispered again. "I want gum. Where's my gum? Can I have some gum?"

She kept this up until I informed her, also in a piercing whisper, that all the gum was gone, there was no more, no one had any more pieces, she was beginning to ruin the show for those around her, and Daddy would need to take her out. Oh, what I would have given for a pack of gum right then. You would think the smart thing to do as a mother would be to always carry gum, correct. It would except that, just as my camera has a sixth sense for me, so my girls have for gum. I can go for months without carrying any, but if I happen to have some, they are up before dawn, rummaging through my purse to ferret out the gum. Then they chew it all.

Then she started to cry. Darren swooped her up and got her out before it reached ambulance siren proportions. I think he got her another drink of water, and then they watched the show in a different part of the theater, away from treacherous gum-chewing sisters.

Everyone was happy, especially me since I got to see my favorite number, "Heartland," in peace. Well, as much peace as you can have standing, clapping, and whooping.

It was such a blast. I have just run out of words for the awesomeness that is that show. Just go to youtube and search for Riverdance videos if you want just a taste of it because there is nothing like seeing and hearing it live.

So there was our Riverdance experience. As we were leaving the theater, Angie said, "I wish we could go again tomorrow night!" I told her, "After we saw it the first time, we bought tickets to see it again on our way out of the theater."

As far as I know, Riverdance is ending now. This is its farewell performance. I know there are a number of Irish dancing shows, but this was the original and there won't be another one like it. I'm so glad we got to experience it with our girls.

And who knows--maybe we'll take in one of those other shows someday. I do know that if we do, I'm bringing gum.