Grande Finale!

Some of my wonderful students! (I'm in the middle)

I'm hardly ever at a loss for words, but I've had a difficult time expressing this weekend's whirlwind of emotions.  I'm proud, exhausted, relieved, saddened and happy all at the same time. I don't even know where to start.   

I'm so proud of all my students!  All their 6:00 am practices paid off as they demonstrated their skills in our annual two day ice show this last weekend.  They had nerves of steel in front of a packed house and skated some of their best performances.  They have grown so much as skaters and people this season and I'm lucky to be a part of that.  I loved watching them in their short moments of glory, their faces lit with inspiration.  

I'm exhausted from the hours of rehearsing, organizing costumes, prepping dressing rooms and helping to run the show itself . 

I'm relieved that the show ran smoothly and that I didn't knock over the curtain and big screen as I was rushing around picking up props. (Last year, I skated over a piece of tape, that's like trying to glide over dirt, and as I slid under the curtain I envisioned the whole thing coming down!  Luckily it remained in place.)

I'm selfishly saddened that one of my lovely students is graduating and moving on to college.  She has been a joy to teach! I'm happy for her, but her radiance which fills the arena with warmth will be truly missed.  And despite all the craziness I'm sad that all the excitement is over.  It's a lot of fun to be a part of a big production.

Most of all though, I am happy all the kids had an amazing two nights.  They formed bonds which will never be broken by supporting each other even when mistakes were made. They had the opportunity to skate with and get to know our guest star Parker Pennington. His love and enthusiasm of our sport and the skaters was evident as he hung out with the kids before and after the show.

It was a wonderful experience for all of us involved.  My daughter said, "It was the best part of the skating season!"

Kathy