And So, the Fairytale Continues...

Watercolor - Allegra and Aria at the Ballet San Josè´s The Nutcracker

When I was younger, my mother would take me to see Ballet San Josè perfom Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker at the Center for the Performing Arts downtown.  My mother would dress me in the perfect little Christmas dress, long formal coat, hat and muff, with the prettiest shoes to match, and a ribbon in my hair, and off we would go to loose ourselves into the magic of the fairytale.  At the end of each performance, I would get to choose my own ornament for our Christmas tree to remember our fairytale together.

Yesterday, my mother and I began a new Christmas tradition with my daughters.  Dressed in their finest, we took Allegra and Aria to see their very first Nutcracker performance; their very first ballet.  The usual 2 hour performance was shortened to an hour long matinée for children.  For Aria, it was the perfect length of time for this aspiring ballerina.  Through out the ballet, the girls remained on the edge of their seats, entranced, leaping forward into the chair in front of them when the pyrotechnics flashed, discussing the reasons for the twists in the story lines with the little girls behind them, all the while paying close attention to the wordless story that was unfolding before them, completely mesmerized.  At the final curtain call, Allegra, who had seen the story of The Nutcracker in class, wanted more.  She wanted to know where the rest of the story was.  For only a moment, she was not satisfied with my answer.  The moment passed as quickly as the story had.

Nonna, Aria & Allegra after the Ballet San Josè's The Nutcracker

Myself and the girls after the Ballet San Josè's The Nutcracker

Once we left the theater, and entered the lobby, scenes from my fairytale of old began to flash before me.  There was my mother, hand in had with my little girls, leading them up to the over decorated tree, brimming with Nutcracker ornaments for the choosing.  Each girl picked out their own - Allegra picked out a pink and purple Nutcracker for herself, Aria picked out Tsarina Tatianna donned in a pink tutu and tiara.  For Andante, the girls chose the Mouse King, and I... I picked out Maria, holding her own Nutcracker to mark this new fairytale.

As we walked through Discovery Park back to where we parked, the girls twirled and lept, singing the simple melody of the Sugar Plum Fairies, lost in a world of snowflakes and tulle.  My mother and I walked behind them, reminiscing over our fairytale of years past, enjoying the new chapter that has just begun to bloom. 

And so, the fairytale continues...


Seriously!

TinaMarie