10 Years of Nutcracker

Our family just finished our
10th
Nutcracker.

It was the first Nutcracker
that no one was
in Act I.

This was a very odd feeling.

I never even got to watch Act I
from backstage
because either
I was helping with last minute
sewing projects
(mending, buttons, shoe elastics, etc)
or
helping my daughter
with her hair and make-up.

It was really the first year
that I understood
one of the other mother's advice
to trade daughters
during dressing room preparations.

My daughters hair is very thick
and this year it was shorter
because she had donated
some of the length to
Locks of Love
during the summer.

Due to the thickness,
I always braid her hair
into several small braids
in order to make the bun
look flatter.

Just before performance,
we thought that the hair was fine
until we tried putting
the headpiece on her head
and found that the bun was too high.

We tried moving the bun lower,
but it messed up the rest of her hair
and
she could not get the bun to feel secure.

After taking out the braids
and while re-brushing her hair
and trying to find the perfect spot
for the bun after several attempts,
a sudden feeling came over me
that I needed to just pull her hair
off her head and make it a wig
with a permanent bun.

There was no feeling of wanting
to hurt my daughter-
just wanting do something
that would make the whole
bun process easier.

Finally,
the perfect spot for the bun;
and,
I was able to make a great bun
without having to re-braid her hair.

So,
even if one has a good relationship
with family members,
during stressful times backstage,
have a third party help.

A couple of things
that I enjoyed this year:

1) watching my daughter help my son
put on his make-up;

and 2) my son occasionally asking me
to help make sure that
his hair, costume, and make-up
were ready for stage.

(Although he's not thrilled
with the way that I like his hair
to be on stage,
he was good about asking
if it was done to my liking.)

The best part of
10 years of Nutcracker
is that it is
a family activity.