Tickets are a bit steep but what do you do when the ticket is to see your own kid? What we did was buy one ticket with which the Mrs. saw the first half, then we switched at intermission.
When the lights began to dim I found my seat and sat down. The woman next to me looked over and remarked, “you don’t look like the woman who was here before.”
“Yes. She looks much better than I do. She’s my wife.”
“Not better; just different.”
I think I like this lady.
I have seen the schools Nutcracker before but it still amazes me that it is more or less a high school production.
When the Sugarplum Fairy danced onto stage the excited woman on the other side of me proudly whispered, “that’s my daughter!”
She’s very good. The mother asked which one was mine. “O, she is little. Does she like ballet?”
“She loves it.”
“I am soooo sorry,” she said in all seriousness. “We moved here from Oregon for my daughter to go to this school.”
As I watched my girl all done up in lipstick and blush, bun pulled back tight, I wonder if there will come a moment when this all ends. Will she decide she is done? Perhaps my budget will crush her dream, or maybe a stone faced instructor will one day have to tell her that her skill has taken her as far as she can go and that its over.
But none of those times are now. Now is all smiles and this strange soft, mushy feeling I get when I see her stand with straight back and elongated neck on stage. I love the wide eyed excitement in her face when she tells me all about how the little kid she was in charge of is a hand full and how she got to be in the front row and how there is an after party and can we please, please, please go?
My fear of tomorrow can wait till then.
Brohammas 
What a lovely post. Thank you for sharing.
Great.
Sigh. She is beautiful! I hope more of us get a chance to see her dance before a possible dreaded future . . .
so lovely. Keep her going until we can get there. Tell her I promise to come see her.