First Recital

For those of you who wondered, I did succumb to the flu on Friday night. Essentially this latest house flu boiled down to an incredible migraine that was untouchable by Tylenol. Dave searched the internet for something, oh please, anything else other than Tylenol, that was safe in pregnancy. He eventually found paracetemol; only to discover that paracetemol is the generic name for acetaminophen which, of course, is Tylenol. Sleep helped majorly and by Sunday morning I woke with only a dull ache that threatened revival if pushed. Thus, I took it very easy and prepared for the afternoon that I was not about to miss: Jacob's and Hannah's first fiddle and step-dance recital. This is their teacher Buster Brown. Yes, that really is his name and it even shows up on call display as such. He has been dancing for over 50 years and once, at the age of nine, spent a season dancing on the Don Messer Show. As my mother said, "That means I watched him!"

And here they are waiting for their turn in the spotlight. Neither were particularly nervous but Hannah was a little shy on stage. Her shyness manifested itself in downcast eyes and a need to physically coordinate the other dancers before they started. Genetically pre-disposed to control others when nervous ... clear maternal link.

This first video is Jacob's debut. Please keep in mind that he has only been playing since September. I am not sure who was terribly off-key. It very well might have been Jacob but he certainly didn't sound like that at home. Fortunately, right before the performance started a dad in the front row signalled to Buster that Jacob's bow needed to be tightened. I thanked him afterward.
I asked Jacob if he had been nervous and he replied: "No, I've grown quite used to the stage." (Update: Jacob just notified me that the strange droning was not him. Apparently one of the other players had a string that, in Jacob's words, "Wanted to be played like a guitar: it could only twang, Mom.")

And Buster moves a little closer as Jacob attempts eye contact with his mother.

And, here is our little stepper. She didn't miss a step and performed superbly. Dave and I were both taping using two different cameras as we were unsure which one would turn out. Thus, I was left to tape with a Joseph pulling on my arm and a Benjamin loudly complaining, "Why can't I take a picture? But I have nothing to do!" I believe that you can hear a bit of our, ahem, conversation.

I had to included these next two videos for my parents so that they could hear what sort of talent these steppers got to dance to. The fiddler, Robbie Dagenais, is a nationally-ranked fiddler but just happens to own the grocery store two towns over. Pretty great stuff. Mom and Dad, we all wish that you could have been there.

The finale was a wonderful highlight in which all the dancers came on stage together to dance their little hearts out. I was pretty pleased that Hannah ended up in the front row and so close to the camera. Unfortunately, my camera finger gave out 12 seconds before the last note sounded. So, you'll have to be satisfied with an abrupt ending. Enjoy.