Hello everyone! I am indeed still among the living. I just have a crazy schedule that does not allow much time for writing these days, but I feel like I need to. At least I have to tell the story of Georgia in the Jungle Book play at school. I wrote about Sonya and Lana's experiences, so it would be unfair of me to not talk about little GG. Plus then, when she gets older, I'll never hear the end of it about how she, as the youngest child, always got the shit end of the stick. Less writing in the baby book, less pictures of her, blah, blah. It's a song my little sister Megan likes to sing sometimes. Well, I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen to G! At least in talking about her part in the 2nd grade play.
For those of you who have been with me a while, you might remember reading about Sonya's experience with this and then Lana, who ended up with the same part Sonya had when she was in 2nd grade. This is one of the things I love about my girls all growing up in the same place. I moved around so much when I was a kid and my sisters never had the chance to have the favorite teacher I did or get the same part in the play. We didn't have similar experiences to compare. Which is fine, I swear I'm not harboring a grudge-well maybe a tiny one- however I like that my girls can share and compare their similar childhood experiences.
Now unlike Sonya, who was petrified to get on stage, Georgia is my ham. She is the one who longs to be in the spotlight and have everyone looking at her-as long as they are supposed to be looking at her. When they started discussing the Jungle Book at school in January, Georgia was dying to play the part of King Louie. I honestly have no idea why she wanted to be him, but that was who she had her heart set on. Then she came home in tears one day because she wasn't going to get the chance to try out for King Louie. They were organizing it a bit differently this year and each 2nd grade class had a group of animals they could try out for. Her class was not the monkeys. Her class was Kaa the snake and she had no desire to be one of 10 kids as Kaa the snake. She could, however, try out for one of the four main parts-Mowgli, Shere Kahn, Bagheera, or Baloo the bear. Once she heard about this option, all her cards were on the table to go for Baloo. I thought this was a perfect choice for her since Baloo is more of the comedic relief of the play, and Georgia is the comedic relief in our family.
Sidestory-We were talking at dinner one night about how the girls wanted to see the new Ghostbusters movie. I told them they could, but that they had to watch the original one first. Sonya and Lana decided they would be too scared. Georgia said that was fine, she wanted to watch it. Then she said,
"But I might end up in your bed in the middle of the night....Consequences!"
Consequences indeed. Damn that kid makes me laugh. Anyway-Baloo.
They auditioned in their class for the teacher. Then their teacher picked two kids to move on to audition with the other Baloo, and main part hopefuls in the other classes. (You're going to Hollywood!) Her teacher kept telling me how great she was for the part, but they had to see the other kids first before they could decide. Of course none were as good as Georgia, not to brag, but yet to brag, and she got the part. Little GG was going to play the part of Big Bear Baloo!
Over the next month and a half, they rehearsed the play at school. I kept hearing from all the 2nd grade teachers how great she was doing and how cute she was. We worked on her lines at home and I could see how into this she was. Her only problem was running the lines too quickly.
She was so nervous the night before and the morning of the performance. We could barely talk to her without her getting mad or bursting into tears. She was jumpy! I was just praying she wasn't going to get a migraine. Don't worry-she didn't. This isn't one of those stories, but I was sweating it. She hadn't had one since December and she was due. Thankfully it happened two weeks AFTER this.
The school held two performances and we went to both. I even took Sonya out of school for a bit one day, so she could come watch her sister. I was nervous for her, but she remembered every line and played the part adorably well. People I didn't know came up to me afterward to tell me how cute she was. She really was. She is easily one of the smallest kids in her class-as all of my girls are, they come by it naturally-and here she was playing the part of what was supposed to be a big bear. I was so proud of the great job she did and of course cried at the beginning of both performances. I am such a sap! The best part is she loved every minute of it. She loved the acting and getting the laughs and she loved the spotlight. I guess something else she comes by naturally.
It's been so crazy to watch each of my girls do this play and each in a different way. Even though Sonya and Lana had the same part they certainly didn't play it the same way. Then having Georgia play a main part brought it to a different level. I'm so glad they go to a school that will do things like this for the kids. There was talk of it not happening this year, and I would have been heartbroken if it didn't. I feel like things came full circle while watching Georgia up there, after having seen it two times before with the other two. Not to mention that this really sparked something in her. I would guess she is going to look for more opportunities like this to shine. She enjoyed herself so much from beginning to end. I think the craziest part of all this for me though is to realize that they have now all been through 2nd grade. This is it. We are on to the END of elementary school. I just can't even think about it half the time. I will miss all the littleness and cuteness of all this...
For those of you who have been with me a while, you might remember reading about Sonya's experience with this and then Lana, who ended up with the same part Sonya had when she was in 2nd grade. This is one of the things I love about my girls all growing up in the same place. I moved around so much when I was a kid and my sisters never had the chance to have the favorite teacher I did or get the same part in the play. We didn't have similar experiences to compare. Which is fine, I swear I'm not harboring a grudge-well maybe a tiny one- however I like that my girls can share and compare their similar childhood experiences.
Now unlike Sonya, who was petrified to get on stage, Georgia is my ham. She is the one who longs to be in the spotlight and have everyone looking at her-as long as they are supposed to be looking at her. When they started discussing the Jungle Book at school in January, Georgia was dying to play the part of King Louie. I honestly have no idea why she wanted to be him, but that was who she had her heart set on. Then she came home in tears one day because she wasn't going to get the chance to try out for King Louie. They were organizing it a bit differently this year and each 2nd grade class had a group of animals they could try out for. Her class was not the monkeys. Her class was Kaa the snake and she had no desire to be one of 10 kids as Kaa the snake. She could, however, try out for one of the four main parts-Mowgli, Shere Kahn, Bagheera, or Baloo the bear. Once she heard about this option, all her cards were on the table to go for Baloo. I thought this was a perfect choice for her since Baloo is more of the comedic relief of the play, and Georgia is the comedic relief in our family.
Sidestory-We were talking at dinner one night about how the girls wanted to see the new Ghostbusters movie. I told them they could, but that they had to watch the original one first. Sonya and Lana decided they would be too scared. Georgia said that was fine, she wanted to watch it. Then she said,
"But I might end up in your bed in the middle of the night....Consequences!"
Consequences indeed. Damn that kid makes me laugh. Anyway-Baloo.
They auditioned in their class for the teacher. Then their teacher picked two kids to move on to audition with the other Baloo, and main part hopefuls in the other classes. (You're going to Hollywood!) Her teacher kept telling me how great she was for the part, but they had to see the other kids first before they could decide. Of course none were as good as Georgia, not to brag, but yet to brag, and she got the part. Little GG was going to play the part of Big Bear Baloo!
Over the next month and a half, they rehearsed the play at school. I kept hearing from all the 2nd grade teachers how great she was doing and how cute she was. We worked on her lines at home and I could see how into this she was. Her only problem was running the lines too quickly.
She was so nervous the night before and the morning of the performance. We could barely talk to her without her getting mad or bursting into tears. She was jumpy! I was just praying she wasn't going to get a migraine. Don't worry-she didn't. This isn't one of those stories, but I was sweating it. She hadn't had one since December and she was due. Thankfully it happened two weeks AFTER this.
The school held two performances and we went to both. I even took Sonya out of school for a bit one day, so she could come watch her sister. I was nervous for her, but she remembered every line and played the part adorably well. People I didn't know came up to me afterward to tell me how cute she was. She really was. She is easily one of the smallest kids in her class-as all of my girls are, they come by it naturally-and here she was playing the part of what was supposed to be a big bear. I was so proud of the great job she did and of course cried at the beginning of both performances. I am such a sap! The best part is she loved every minute of it. She loved the acting and getting the laughs and she loved the spotlight. I guess something else she comes by naturally.
It's been so crazy to watch each of my girls do this play and each in a different way. Even though Sonya and Lana had the same part they certainly didn't play it the same way. Then having Georgia play a main part brought it to a different level. I'm so glad they go to a school that will do things like this for the kids. There was talk of it not happening this year, and I would have been heartbroken if it didn't. I feel like things came full circle while watching Georgia up there, after having seen it two times before with the other two. Not to mention that this really sparked something in her. I would guess she is going to look for more opportunities like this to shine. She enjoyed herself so much from beginning to end. I think the craziest part of all this for me though is to realize that they have now all been through 2nd grade. This is it. We are on to the END of elementary school. I just can't even think about it half the time. I will miss all the littleness and cuteness of all this...
On the plus side-I am anxious to see what they will choose to focus on in their lives and if something like this play really will spark something in Georgia. I love watching their lives unfold and seeing what kind of people they will become. I will NOT love the attitudes that are about to explode in my house over the next eight years though. Especially if this acting bug kicks in. The drama that will follow! Oh Lawdy! Pray for me people!
