A Small Vanilla & Dance Drama

Random subject line, right?  Well, hopefully, I can explain it here and somehow manage to keep two separate topics unified and concise.

Earlier today, J and N were playing a game where J ran a store that sold ice cream supplies (cones, etc.) and N ran a restaurant that sold ice cream and other things.  What a practical exchange of goods and services, or as I like to call it, Econ for elementary school kids.  Ha.

Anyway, at one point, J went to the restaurant run by N.  Keep in mind that both businesses were about three feet apart on the floor on either side of our homeschool table.  So going to the restaurant was little more than a lean under the table.

J placed an order of ice cream for the doll she had tucked under her arm, "I'll take a vanilla ice cream, please.  Let's make that a small vanilla for her."

N said, "Small?  Well, okay, I need to get my cookbook for that because I don't know how to make a small vanilla."

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Awkward segue...

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So, speaking of J, her dance recital is coming up this weekend.

A couple weeks ago, we got this crazy list of options we can purchase as part of this whole dance recital thing.  I guess I'm a newbie to actual dance recitals.  Her four- and five-year-old dance recitals at Little Gym were seriously like buy the costume and then you're on your own to take pictures or not, to bring flowers or not, etc.  The recitals took place in the same space her weekly classes occurred.  No biggie.

But now, we're working with an actual dance studio that has won awards and stuff.  They have a competitive dance team that travels around.  They had Shane Sparks visit the other day to teach a Master's class.  Fancy-schmance.

So that means that A) I'm not allowed to take personal pictures, but have the option of buying the $50 professional DVD; B) must put on gobs of makeup and a specific, matchy hairstyle on our 7-year-old with different hair than many other kids in the class; C) am offered a $15 recital t-shirt and tiny $7 bouquet of flowers to order in advance; and D) must pay $10 per ticket/per person to attend the recital (or $15 at the door)!

I'm not saying any of this stuff is bad or wrong or whatever, it just feels ... expensive.  Excessive.  She's seven!  Never mind the monthly tuition we pay for the classes and the cost of the costume, now we have to pay to go see our own child perform on stage.  It'll be an actual stage at a local high school, which is big-time as far as we're concerned, but still. 

What if I promise not to watch the other kids performing and only look at J up there?  Do I get a discount then?

I don't mean to be cheap.  But I like taking my own pictures and I would promise not to use flash.  So as much as it kills me, we're not buying the DVD.  We'll take pictures of her before she performs (in her costume) and maybe at the dress rehearsal I can nab a couple of her friends and ask them to pose with her.  But the rest of the performance will have to reside in my memory.

We'll probably skip the t-shirt (even though it's cute and has her name listed on it) and figure out our own bouquet of flowers.  As the studio owner says, "None of it is mandatory, we're just providing you with options.  For your convenience."

Pardon me if none of it seems particularly convenient.

So instead of all the optional stuff, we'll just pay to see our child perform because for us, that seems the least optional of everything on the list.  Cost or no, we're going to be there to cheer our girl on.

This is show business, I guess.  Fun.  I really need more time to adjust.