Middle School Redux

I decided this morning I would go to the opera and I would stay at the dance whether my child wanted me or not. Two great decisions. I am now happily at the end of a long day of hanging with the middle schoolers.

The great thing about the opera excursion was even though I was technically on a field trip, I drove myself there, met the group, then sat with adults and had no supervisory responsibilities. Not too shabby.

When you're in your 40s and menstrual, Madame Butterfly is very affecting. I went ahead and started crying as soon as she walked on stage in the first act. It was a teary 2 hours. Quite a different feeling from the first time I saw it at Mary Washington College in 1980 - the 1980 feeling being boredom. I say that I was bored and I remember being bored, but I also remember the experience. It was my first opera and it made an impression on me.

I came out of the dance tonight sweaty and exhausted and I didn't even get to dance. I set up for two hours, helped with food service for three, then broke down tables and swept the floors for an hour. I spent some time spying on C. Louise and trying to take secret pictures of her. I can't reveal anything about her personal life here, but I can say she looked cute as can be.

I knew almost every song they played thanks to my immersion of late into current Top 40. Plus, they played You Shook Me All Night Long and I Will Survive and some other tunes from my actual middle school years. I remember always being excited about going to the dances back then, but it was all so awkward and ultimately underwhelming (UU - try it out while texting).

Madame Butterfly from 1980 is more deeply etched in my memory than any dance is from that era. In present day, however, I will remember C. Louise and her dance far longer than the opera I watched today.