We are successfully ALL SHOOK UP! The musical by that name is done! We made it! Sarah did a phenomenal job throughout an intense week of dress rehearsals and performances 7 days in a row, getting to bed so much later than usual. She had no spare time for anything outside of eating and sleeping when she was at home. As soon as she came home on a school day she took a nap (wanting me next to her) until dinnertime and then we scooted back to her school. She did a beautiful job with all of the performances, with her best run being last night – perhaps because she had two long naps during the day. Some of you may have questioned our sanity as you read about our struggles along the way… but! For this musical and her previous two musicals, when it all comes together it is profoundly incredible and moving. I always feel teary watching her dancing and doing the moves on stage. It is a culmination of the years of therapies and Sarah-Rise and the continued love and input from all of those who are closest to her. It is a culmination of so much hard work on Sarah’s part! What an incredible achievement for her to set a goal and upend her normal life for four months to make it happen, to wait (mostly) quietly and patiently for so many minutes while then being ready to go on and do her stuff when it was time. It is profoundly heart-filling to witness someone who walked at age 3 and talked at age 4 go up on stage as part of an ensemble to dance and sing her heart out.
Amy commented that now she will actually get to see her sister again. During these intense rehearsal and performance days, Sarah would be on her way to school when Amy came down for breakfast, Sarah would be napping when Amy came home from school, and then Amy would be asleep by the time Sarah and I got home from rehearsals. Amy is about to start some after school activities, so it is perfect timing to wrap up the musical as my taxi services will be required for Amy, but in a less intense way!
Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop drove out from Philadelphia to see the musical and they also got to attend Amy’s art show from the after-school art program she was part of for several weeks. Friday was an intricate dance of timing and coordination since Sarah needed to nap after school (my mom sat with her in my stead), but I needed to get Amy at her school so she could be on time for her art show. I got home with Amy and hopped out of the car so Carl and my parents could hop in the car and zoom to the art venue. I got dinner ready for Sarah and me and then we went to get her in costume, dealing with massive traffic jams. After the art show, Carl and Amy then came out to see the musical for the second time, eating dinner as they drove and taking a longer route to avoid the traffic that was slowing my progress.
It was really meaningful having so many people come see the musical, including family from near and far, Sarah’s school friends, close family friends, and Sarah’s piano teacher. When one of her school friends was hugging Sarah and telling her how proud she was of her, I was all emotional and could easily have cried more joyful tears. It is a big deal to have a peer friend like that. We also managed to keep it a secret that Sarah’s beloved bus driver would be in the audience last night. At the very end of the performance, all alumni who used to be part of the cast and crew were invited on stage, and that is when the bus driver (a crew alum) said hello to her. She was radiantly happy to see him, and she was excitedly talking about how she couldn’t wait to see him on Monday and tell him all about the musical!
When we got home last night I sprawled out on the family room floor to give my body the message that we had finished our race. I had dreams about the musical and needing to be ready for it. I had to remind myself each time I woke that it was over and we made it.
Today we have Sarah’s piano recital! Then we will celebrate all of the art, musicals, and piano recital with a party at our house at a reasonable hour. The cast parties after each musical performance were too late for our tired selves and wouldn’t have supported a lively connection with Sarah in the way we can do at home.
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