Wowza. Yesterday I spent the day at a Dance Competition in the Hynes Auditorium in downtown Boston. The very first thing about that and how it relates to maybe-child is: I most sincerely hope that kid gets anyone else's sense of direction. It didn't help that YahooMaps, which should be named 'I can't believe you actually got there maps!', had me getting off on a mythical exit named 'Avenue of the Arts.' It didn't sound familiar to me, either. I drove right by Copley Square exit which I knew was in the vicinity and right on toward Cambridge. So, I had a nice tour of the BigDig and Logan is looking greeeaaaaaat.

I finally found the place and a great parking spot in the garage. Yeah for me.

I went up to the third floor to find my god-daughter and her little Vermont Academy dance troupe. What I happened upon looked like a pre-stripper convention. I could go on and on but let it suffice to say that it was just plain creepy.

I watched the competition for age group 7-10 and asked my friend about twenty times, "This is 7-10??!!" I can understand the makeup so they can be seen from the floor. I understand about a lot of things regarding theatre. What I don't understand is half shirts, little dresses with panties poking out, dances where LITTLE GIRLS rub their hands across their chests and shake their hips. I was so uncomfortable there. It made me really sad. Our maybe-child will learn to dance as a way to learn about his/her body and how it works and its power. Our maybe-child will never look like a mini-hooker. The only thing missing at this dance competition was a big pole at center stage. Ugh.

I am concerned with how to address all these things with a child. My god-daughter LOVES jazz and LOVES tap and LOVES acting. Her mom in the best. Balanced with great common sense about what is acceptable and not acceptable. I see her guide my little A through tough decisions and lets the little one find the right answer. Little A wants to be an actor and it's not bias saying that she is special and has a gift. Her mom and I want to take her to some open calls to see what happens. She is phenominal, adorable, brilliant and such a great looking little kid. I don't want to have to break a nose of an adult who is rude or disrespectful to her. And I pity the fool.......

One bridge at a time. Having my 20 year younger sister with us for a while helped me to feel like 'I can do it.' I think a lot just comes up from inside you somewhere. Hopefully by this point I've developed my moral compass to the point where it merits sharing. I will not,however, tell my child about partying til 4am, deciding I need a nap-at a party in a little black dress-waking up 2 hours later all curled up on the couch, and starting up on the Veuve again. Nope, some things are better left unsaid. That's what I say.