The Audition

“Claire, I’m taking you to the auditions for Butler Ballet’s Nutcracker this Saturday.”

“OK,” she said happily.

That girl’s always game for anything, I thought.

“You too, Brooke. You’re in the age range and I think you’re under 5 feet tall.”

“Uh … I don’t think I want to,” said Brooke.

“Me either,” echoed Younger Sister.

… yeah, game for anything … unless Big Sister doesn’t want to do it.

I hesitated. Out of all of our kids, Brooke is the most shy and quiet. She’s content to stay in the background and, at the age of 11, quite self-conscious. Even around our own dinner table, her cheeks start glowing if the noise dies down while she’s talking. Thankfully for her, this doesn’t happen often.

As parents, Mick and I aren’t cemented in our personalities, but he tends to be the one pushing the kids and I’m more likely to give them a break. If it’s something I feel very strongly about, I’ll persevere, but in general, if it doesn’t have long-term negative consequences, I won’t be demanding on an issue. I try to consider their individual personalities, passions and quirks when trying to decide how best to handle a situation.

My first instinct was to go along with her. But then I remembered my conversation with Rachel. Rachel, who used to hold the title as the shyest, quietest Worley Kid. Who, at 13 and 14 years old battled nervousness weekly to the point of getting physically sick before playing at our small church. “You don’t have to do this; Pastor Mark will understand,” I told her on the way to church, while she kept her eyes shut and her pale face resting in the open car window. “She’ll be fine; it’s good for her,” Mick said.

And it turns out, it was good for her. The other day, after she finished her first full week at Butler, she said “I don’t know what I’d be doing with my life right now if it weren’t for piano camp and the competitions. I’m so glad I did that, even though it was so hard.”

There were also those other Worley girls I wrote about once who stepped into a new, demanding situation, pushed themselves and were better for the experience.

But those daughters were older and had different temperaments. What to do with this child? Push or give in?

I decided to take a chance and give her a nudge. So, I talked about all the reasons why trying out was a good idea and how it would be fun and no pressure, because these people would be working with young kids, and it would probably be just simple stretches and positions (I didn’t let on that these were just guesses - what did I know?). And because stubbornness is not one of her qualities, we found ourselves at Lilly Hall on Saturday, along with lots of other little Nutcracker hopefuls with numbers pinned to their leotards.

When we got there, our girls were very nervous and uneasy. They pressed themselves back against the wall in the crowded lobby and just watched everybody, not even wanting to stretch out. Meanwhile, I filled out their forms and then spotted a friend nearby whose daughter was auditioning and chatted with her, giving them some time to try to relax a little and get used to the place. Eventually though, I had to convince them that they needed to stretch out a little. So they finally did a little warming up, and then it was time.

When Brooke’s group was called, I squeezed around a window with a bunch of other nervous parents, taking in the scene. The audition room was huge and mirror-lined. There was a long table in front where several serious-looking ballet-types sat watching the girls over their glasses, with notepads and pencils ready. Some Butler Ballet dancers were there also, gracefully demonstrating the combinations for the young dancers. The kids had been separated into groups according to height and Brooke was one of the taller girls, so she ended up in a class with dancers who seemed to be at least her age but mostly older.

I watched as Brooke’s group tried out the first combination. I could see her clearly in the front row, looking beautiful even as she struggled a bit to keep up with the sashays, piquè turns and leaps, which came in quick succession. She had an unsure look and a shy, self-conscious smile on her face as she glanced up at the judges. My heart went out to her and for the first time, I wondered if I’d been wrong in encouraging her to do this. She looked like she’d rather be anywhere else than in that room, trying to get unfamiliar, difficult ballet combinations right in a room full of other dancers watching and ballet instructors critiquing her. The group went through the combinations several times, and each time, she seemed more sure of herself, but as soon as she was catching on, the next group came forward. The audition lasted quite a while – far longer than Claire’s – and it was probably an hour and a half before she came out in a sea of black leotards. They’d told the dancers they would be contacting everybody in a few days, so we headed out to the car. 

As she climbed into the back seat, she surprised me with this: “That was SO FUN! I want to do it again next year!” What? Really?! Fun? Next year? And then she excitedly went over everything that happened, even talking about her nervousness and how she missed a few of the steps because she was trying so hard to learn them quickly. But overall, she seemed excited and energized by doing something that was so different and challenging from anything she’d done before. We decided to get some ice cream to celebrate, and while I listened to her, I silently wondered how she would handle it if she wasn’t picked. She got quiet for a minute and then, as if reading my thoughts, said “It doesn’t really matter if I make it or not, it was a good experience for me.” Yes, that. THAT was how I hoped she’d feel about the whole thing. For sure, to see our girls dancing on the Clowe’s Hall stage would be so amazing, but for Brooke, just making it through the audition was enough this year. And so it was enough for me, too.

I don’t yet know the end of this story - we’re supposed to find out this week if either girl made it - but as far as I’m concerned, the audition was a success: Brooke did it! She stepped up, took a chance, and in the process found a bit of confidence that has become a part of who she is.

Brooke’s 10th

Brooke’s birthday this year was sandwiched by snowstorms. In fact, we needed to reschedule the party due to snowstorms and extreme cold, all due to a “polar vortex” they called it. Obviously these extreme winter conditions did nothing to dampen Brooke’s enthusiasm. In fact, I could almost say there is NOTHING that will dampen Brooke’s enthusiasm. I often tell people she is a very happy-go-lucky girl.

One of the things Brooke asked for was a pair of cowboy boots.I wasn’t sure where to start looking for those, but Mick came through: he found this great pair in just her size at Rural King!  Yes, she was v-e-r-y excited. 

Here’s the funny story about these boots. I had asked one of the older girls to wrap the birthday gifts in our bedroom. Somehow, the boots got overlooked. When Mick got home, he found Brooke reading a book in our room, about a foot away from that box! HA! Obviously, she didn’t notice them and we were still able to surprise her.

And here’s the cowgirl heading off into the sunset on her pink “pony.”

Another funny story: it turns out that Mick brought the bike into the house a little bit too soon. Also, he might have overestimated Trent’s ability to keep a secret. While Brooke was waiting upstairs for her grand entrance, he brought the bike in from the garage and hid it under a blanket behind a chair in the living room – all while the other kids were watching with great excitement. Trent just had to tell somebody about the bike Daddy just brought in, so he ran up and told Brooke.  :-P  She was a good sport about it and showed proper excitement when she pulled the blanket off.  :-)

Ah yes, you can really see that blond tint to her hair in this shot. I clearly remember being the first thing I noticed about her when she was born. She looked like the others … but she’s BLOND!  :-D

This next picture was taken at the State Fair when she was 18 months old. The girls were sitting on bleachers set up for the purpose of watching a cow give birth. Brooke was just excited about getting to sit on the bleachers by herself.  :-D

 

 

Quite possibly my favorite picture of Brooke ever.  :-)

Waiting for some momentum

Here’s Brooke yesterday all decked out. She just needs some water to pull her out!  :-) 

This is how I feel about my blog right now: I have all the necessary equipment (pictures, videos, stories) to blog about our amazing vacation. Now I’m just waiting for a wave of opportunity called TIME to gather it all and start blogging. We’re planning on shoving off tomorrow morning at about 5:00 am, and then there’s the 12-hour drive (not counting a few dozen bathroom breaks). I’m really hoping to work on some of it in the car!

Brooke’s 9th

From about 2002 through 2008 our camcorder was a Sony Digital 8. Looks just like this:

For future generations, this type of camcorder was the part of the last of a dying breed. You see, this camcorder used a type of media device called a “tape.”

So, when you recorded with the camcorder, it was placed on the tape. In order to watch the tape, you had to use cables to connect the camcorder to the TV. I know it sounds positively prehistoric, but that was the technology at the time. Unfortunately, some time in 2008, the camcorder stopped working. We bought a new one pretty quickly, since I was expecting Grant, and the old Hi-8 was quickly forgotten. At some point, we realized that we had a whole lot of tapes from the Lost Years that we had no way of watching! Thankfully, my industrious husband found a YouTube clip that showed how to fix the exact problem we were having with the camcorder. This was a few weeks ago, and since then we have had a great time watching the tapes from these years.

Today, we were watching the tapes from when Brooke was a newborn. Like all parents, I find myself saying things like “I can’t believe that was 9 years ago!” and “Look how much everyone has changed!”

For instance, when Brooke was born, Courtney and Rachel looked like this:

Erica looked like this:

Sarah looked like this:

Mick and I looked like this:

and Brooke looked like this:

Uh, I mean, she looked like this:

A funny little story about her hospital hat: when the nurse was getting her all cleaned up and ready, she first put on Brooke a hat with a red and white – or shall we say cream and crimson – ball on top. As any self-respecting Hoosier knows, these are the colors for Indiana University. Mick, being the major Purdue fan, and wearing a Purdue sweatshirt at the time, I might add, immediately began loudly clearing his throat. When the nurse looked over, he gestured towards his sweatshirt. She said “Oh! Well, we have those hats, too.”  :-) Of course, when we had visitors come in the rest of the day, everyone kept assuming our little girl was a boy since she had black and gold on her hat.

But she has always been a feminine little thing, so very few people have mistaken her for a boy since then. We won’t count the time we were at the State Fair later that year. I was pushing Brooke – dressed in pink from head to toe - in the stroller and the girls were flanking me on all sides. At one point, an older gentleman came walking up laughing and said “Please tell me the one in pink is a boy!” He was delighted with the girls and said it reminded him of his own big family.

Brooke’s birthday this year fell on a typical cold winter January day in Indiana. But we managed to give the house a festival feel in spite of that. Courtney spent quite a while getting the glass ornaments just right over the table.

The birthday girl requested Mocha Layer Cake. Thankfully, I’ve made one or two of those in my day, so I was more than happy to grant this request.

Like most girls her age, Brooke loves stuffed animals, dolls and horses, so she was very happy with her birthday gifts.

Sadly, Grandma and Grandpa weren’t able to come, since Grandma is still recovering from her broken ribs, but we were able to set up a Skype session with them so it still felt like they were able to take part in the birthday celebration.

Happy 9th Birthday, Brooke! We love you!

 

P.S. Look who tried to sneak in on our picture.  <tee hee>

D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire

 

Sarah and Brooke have been using every spare minute in the past couple of days to read this classic. Right now, they’re on the most coveted spot in the house: the register between the speaker and the wall. Big comfy pillows + warm register beneath + sunlight overhead = reading heaven!

Brooke’s Birthday

Since Erica’s birthday is one week from today, I thought I’d better grab a quick minute and finish Brooke’s birthday post, as promised.

Although it’s been 8 years, there are many details about Brooke’s birth that I remember very clearly.  I remember going into labor around 11:00 the night before.  I had fallen asleep on the couch and woken up to contractions.  I spent the next several hours laboring, alternating between walking around and rocking in the rocking chair.  It was a pretty typical labor for me, except that my water broke.  Out of all the kids, this only happened during my labor with Brooke, so that lent an extra bit of excitement to everything (as if labor and delivery isn’t exciting enough!).  Our neighbor came over very early in the morning to watch the kids and we got to the hospital around 7:00.  We called the family to let them know and Mom and Dad came to the hospital.  I remember Jennifer and Steve were out and about because Jennifer had an OB appointment that morning (she was pregnant with cousin Erin), so they headed over to the hospital. Things were progressing well, I was chatting with the family when I suddenly felt the unmistakable feeling of downward movement.  That completely changed the atmosphere in the room:  everybody rushed out (Steve had barely stepped inside the door in the first place ;-), the nurses came in for a check, and we got the green light for delivery!  At the last minute, my OB came sprinting in yelling “Wait, wait, wait!” and a short time later, Andrea Brooke was born … at 11:11 to be exact.  :-)

I’ll never forget my first look at our new little girl. So many similar features we’d seen before; same mouth, same eyes, very similar in size, but BLONDE hair! Erica had blonde hair as a toddler, but it was pretty dark at birth and lightened over time.

Being so close in age to Sarah (21 months), Brooke has been her little shadow, and they have always been very close.

And then there are the cousins.  Brooke was born in the middle of the great Griffin Baby Boom of 2003-2004.  First there were the twins in December, then Brooke, then Mason in February, then Erin in March! This picture was taken when they were all about 1 year old.

Brooke and Sophia and Isabella

Brooke and Mason

Brooke and Erin

If I could sum up Brooke’s personality in one word (which is difficult, she’s many things!), I would say “cheerful”.  She has a very sunny outlook and loves to laugh.  Happy Birthday, Brooke!