I didn’t want to be late and yet here I was still circling the area near our local performing arts theater where Abbie’s recital was just about to begin. So I did a “no-no.” I went ahead and parked in a restaurant parking lot where signs warned of towing. But I mean come on, it was morning time and they weren’t even open yet! I quickly locked my car, crossed the street, and fumbled with my cell phone to show the lady at the entrance my QR code ticket. She told me where to go for my seat, something about balcony and then back down, which made zero sense to me but I could hear the music and knew that the recital had already begun. There was no way I was gonna miss my first grandbaby’s official dance recital! I charged up the stairs like I was told to and then took the first option to go down and did not find myself in a designated seat at all. I found myself right where I started at the entrance! That kind woman walked with me to show me exactly where to go. I must have looked completely panicked but surely appreciated her gesture.
I found my seat in the dark theater lit from the stage where I was in the middle of the balcony with a fantastic view! Thanks to texting I found out that the rest of the family were seated together downstairs. Two family members were unable to attend so I sat alone with an empty seat on either side of me. “Great,” I thought. “All by myself” I told myself sadly. Juliet texted me a screenshot of the program and it turned out I was just in time…..Abigail was about to go on with her class for their first performance! I cheered from the balcony and recorded the zoomed in parts I could get of my granddaughter, loving every moment of it.
Then it hit me…hard. The 25 year old memories of another recital suddenly pounced on my happy moment. In my mind, over the music in the theater, I could hear Rachel’s acrobatics coach instructing those in the audience that the next number was going to include a little girl who had worked harder than anyone else and we had better cheer really loudly for her. The instructor, Michel Tagariello Scott, did not tell the audience why this special girl had worked so hard. Rachel was born with a mild form of ataxic cerebral palsy. Instead of being spastic with tight muscles, Rachel had a lack of muscle tone. Before her second birthday Rachel had already begun the process of many many hours of physical and occupational therapies. She hated it. So did I.
One day I sort of had a brainstorm that perhaps Rachel could receive the benefits of the painful physical therapy in an alternative venue; hence, I approached the local acrobatics instructor. Michel did not turn us away. This way Rachel got the physical strengthening her body needed while still allowing her to feel “normal.” Feeling “normal” is a very important thing to all special needs children. When the day of Rachel’s recital came our whole family including grandparents and even a great grandmother attended. I can’t tell you what the name of the moves were that the girls performed but I can tell you my little girl was adorable prancing around in costume to the song “Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini!”
Honestly I don’t know when, where, or if that memory would have been triggered, transporting me back to the elementary school where the recital was held had I not been sitting in the middle of the balcony with an empty seat on either side of me as I watched Abigail in amazement. I have no idea if God allows us to “look down on the earth” from heaven but I sure hope that He let Rachel see her baby girl dancing, prancing, and smiling at her accomplishment!
By the way, my car was not towed after all! (Thank you Lord!)
Rachel's Voice 