I delivered The Ballerina to the studio today for a pre-rehearsal-week rehearsal. Months of dancing with Ballet Theatre Queensland will culminate in four performances at the Performing Arts Centre in a few weeks. Final rehearsals commence tomorrow and a few cast members decided to dust off the pins with an informal run-through at our local studio this morning.
Me time
From there I drove to the art gallery to drink coffee, read and doodle in the diary for a couple of hours. Sitting by the river, surrounded by happy families, made me happy. It occurred to me most families are happy when they’re out. Drinking coffee or milkshakes with art at your back and the river glinting in the distance would lift even the crankiest person’s spirits.
Happiness regained
A gallery visit isn’t always a practical solution to restore family harmony. A fellow dance mum told me how her two daughters had disappointed her the day before, fudging the truth to avoid a scolding. The girls had gone to the movies. While there, the 17-year-old realised she should have been at her part-time job. She’d misread the shift start time. In a panic about how their parents would react, the girls hatched a lie, telling their father, who expected to drive his daughter to work after the movies, the shift had been cancelled.
But the lie was too heavy. Within the hour the girls came clean. Deception was new territory for this family. Embarrassment and disappointment crowded the hallways. The girls were sullen. The parents were mute. The younger brother was puzzled. But instead of letting the episode fester, my friend gathered her brood to the kitchen to bake. They made a nectarine flan, then played a board game together, dropping crumbs and their defences as they forgot about the day’s dramas.
My friend put the flan back into forgiveness. I like her style.
For the record
My kitchen is still full of pantry moths.
