After a long summer of exploring the genre of Bluegrass music (Not nearly as bad as I thought!  Quite pleasant once you get used to it), I found us settling back into a folder of old favorites: Ariel’s Under the Sea, Ease on Down the Road from “The Wiz”, a few Brady Bunch tunes, some Hawaiian music…yep, eclectically psychotic, yet peppy and fun for dancing.  We’ve been inside FOREVER due to a long string of respiratory illnesses that have gone through us one by one, assuring that no one in this house has slept more than 2 hours in a row in weeks.  Oh wait, and yes, this WEATHER SUCKS.  This fall just sucks.  In 3 decades of autumns, this fall has to the be the worst in my entire life.  SUUUUUUCCCCKKKKSS.  Cold, wet sucky suck.

We are too tired to have cabin fever.  Mostly, we just lie around and watch “The Great Pumpkin” with a nebulizer mask stuck to one of our faces, followed by the moaning and the coughing.  The Good News: we don’t have H1N1.  The Bad News: we might just die from these nasty colds anyway.  Yesterday, after our 100th dance party this month (we might be sick, but dancing IS medicine in this house), Sara said, “Mommy.  We need some new music.  Some BALLERINA music.”    YES!  OUI!  ABSOLUTEMENT!  I realized the best of all my music themes was about to be born (I know what you are thinking….as if anything could beat my 80’s theme when Sara spent almost all of her 2nd year of life dancing to Billy Idol): Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker”.  It was met with immediate applause from Sara, the most discerning of all music critics.  To be fair, she loves Classical.  And Peter Townsend.  And House of Pain.  DIS-CERN-ING that one.  Or did I mean concerning?  Whatever.

Kelly?  Did not love “The Nutcracker” as much.  Kelly, much like her Mother, has given her heart to the Brady Bunch soundtrack, and there it shall stay.  So I thought to try a Mommy childhood favorite and I downloaded Music Box Dancer.    You can’t play with genetics baby…she LOVED it.  I’ve never seen her so dedicated to expression through dance.  I decided to let Kelly choose her first version of a song.  I was imagining some tinny, early score type version.  But Kelly was insistent that I download a very 70’s style piece, heavy on the piano, maybe a little heavy on the interpretation of notes…hey, don’t look at me…I’m not musician.  But I know 70’s lounge music when I hear it.  Again, no argument from me.  If Kelly wants Music Box Lounge Dancer, so be it.  She’s dancing.

After so much dancing, I needed some quiet music for chilling out.  I put on Dvorak’s No. 9.  Sara told me to take a picture of her thoughts about this piece:

Exactly my dear.  This is exactly the reaction I’m looking for.  Rest up Tiny Dancers.  The Holiday Season lies before us, and we have the entirety of “The Nutcracker” to explore.