In Which She Explains Where She’s Been for Nearly Two Weeks

My ten year old son does not like to wear eyeliner.

I know I should be happy about this, but Casey’s displeasure created a few tense moments in our bathroom about ten days ago while I was trying to make him hold his head still long enough for me to apply the eyeliner on his eyelid instead of his nose.

Lucky for me, the make-up artist backstage was able to get it on him somehow:

Casey played Avery this year in the DeArmon C.A.S.T.’s production of Charlotte’s Web.

During production week (the week leading up to the weekend performances of the show) the cast spent several hours each day at the  community center.  Casey and the rest of the kids seemed to have a great time — it’s like getting to go to drama camp in the middle of the year and not having to wait until summer.  You may recall that last year’s production week was a bit different because Casey played the Rat King in all four performances of The Pied Piper.  His production week days were a bit longer and we were both a little stressed out over not knowing exactly where to go and what to do.

Last year I signed up to hang the blackout curtains across the windows and learned how to do it.  It took me about an hour to figure out where they went and then another hour to get them all hung properly.  I was the only person signed up for the job, so I assumed that this year, I would be the only person hanging blackout curtains again.  When I showed up on my designated morning this year to hang curtains, I even brought my own stepladder.  But there were four other people waiting to hang blackout curtains.  I didn’t have to do it by myself this year, so it only took half an hour — which left me free to coo over the cute little goslings:

And admire my handsome boy, who was downright delighted that he wasn’t wearing an animal costume this year.

Charlotte’s Web and Casey’s choir tour to Winston-Salem, which followed immediately on the heels of Charlotte’s Web, should explain why this blog has been dormant for two weeks.  When Mace gets old enough to have interests of his own, I may have to abandon blogging altogether because I’ll be so tired chaperoning, supervising, driving and baking cookies for fundraisers.

Or rather — too tired from chaperoning, supervising, driving, and stopping at Publix to pick up cookies for fundraisers.

Casey’s choir, the Gulf Coast Children’s Choir, was invited to the Piedmont Invitational Something-or-other in Winston-Salem this year, so we boarded a bus at 4:45 a.m. last Thursday morning with about 30 other people, 21 of whom were children, ages 9 to 13.  We arrived in Winston-Salem at 9:00 p.m., after having stopped at 2 Cracker Barrels, 1 Cheddars, and 2 Rest Areas on I-95.  We took the same trip in reverse on Monday.  It will be several months before I’m able to eat at a Cracker Barrel again.

On Friday, we went to the Sci-Works Museum in Winston-Salem.  Here’s the obligatory picture of Casey and a friend doing something science-y:

Unlike our science museum here in Tampa (MOSI), Sci-Works has several outdoor animal exhibits.  Unfortunately, all the animals died right before we got there.

No, no, just kidding.  Someone on the museum’s staff told us later that the animals had been overwhelmed with small guests earlier in the day and were wiped out from all the love.  Just to be sure, though, we watched that cow for several minutes to make sure we could see her stomach rise and fall once or twice before we moved on.

Friday evening and all day Saturday, the choir was in rehearsals for Saturday’s 4:00 concert with 200 other children.

It was fabulous.  I recorded snippets of the concert and you can see them here and here.  (I did not record either song all the way through because my battery was low, but you should definitely watch the second video.  I’ll let you be surprised.)

The Invitational was hosted by Centenary Methodist Church in downtown Winston-Salem, where they experience neither traditional nor contemporary worship:

No. Their worship is poignant.

Poignant: adj. evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret.

Huh.

“You keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it means.” (I.D. the quote, anyone?)

On Sunday, the choir sang at First Baptist Church, Stanleyville, NC.  They performed a 30 minute concert during the morning service.

They sang the best that I’ve heard since Casey joined the choir in September.  No, I didn’t record it — it seems rude to video during a Sunday morning service.  But you’ll have to take my word for it that it was lovely.

We spent about an hour and a half in Old Salem Sunday afternoon.  The kids sang at the Single Brothers’ House — and I did record two full songs there, in case you’re interested.  You can find them here and here.  The second one is a favorite of mine.

Even though it’s a little poignant.