When Caedmon was 3 he went one evening with me to an adult ballet class and sat at the window mesmerized the whole time (definitely not due to any talent I had for sure) and promptly told me at the end of class “I want to do ballet” which sounded adorable in his little 3 year old voice. Then that next fall he broke his leg on Halloween and as he sat in the ER missing all the trick and treating he was not sad about that but instead crying because “Miss Summer is making us a Christmas ballet”. I told him we’d find a way for him to dance…..and dance he did with his little leg on the scooter. That was also the first year he went with me to the Nutcracker in Denver by Colorado Ballet. We had no idea at that time that just 7 years later he would actually be on that same stage dancing the Nutcracker. The Opera House is impressive from the front and we got to see a whole new side of it as we navigated and learned all the backstage. He told me during his last in-studio rehearsal with the professional company “Mom, I’ve watched all these dancers for years from the audience and now they are dancing right next to me and I’m dancing with them”. The professional company danced 31 shows, Caedmon’s cast danced 11 of them and then he got called in to cover for a sick dancer so he ended up in 12 total over the course of 4 weeks. He also was in the cast that was filmed for the virtual show that went to schools and organizations all over the US and world and then aired again on PBS locally. And he loved each moment. He settled right in to his little dressing room playing “Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza” with the other student dancers as well as some of the pre-professional guys. He became fast friends with one of the professional dancers who often played his big sister in the party scene and there were lots of high fives and knuckles between him and some of the professional guy dancers. He got to dance alongside his men’s teacher who is one of the company soloists which I think was one of his favorite parts. Clint and I both got to serve backstage and see all the pieces and parts come together and meet some wonderful volunteers and other families so now we recognize a few more faces at the studio each week when getting Caedmon to class. My mom came with me to serve one show too which was fun and she loved seeing all the inner workings. We were all struck by how much fun the professional dancers had and the smiles and support that they showed each other and to goofiness that they had side stage. Caedmon was well supported at a number of different shows with friends, family, teachers, and youth leaders. He finished each show getting to be a part of the final bow and with a huge smile on his face. Crazy to think that just a few short years ago he was in that audience, cast on his leg, too short to see over the chair in front of him on a booster chair and this year helping make some of that magic come alive for other people. And he’s already talking about next year….
Hiking Mommy 