The Bunny Show

From 6:45 - 7:15 tonight I got another "rollercoaster" that comes with parenthood - the kindergarten play. Alessa was Betty Bunny and gleefully got to call her sister naughty and stubborn on numerous occasions while Caleigh managed to land the lead as the "naughty & haughty & wild" Bunny Sue - a part that was not all acting to be honest.

I was told by her teacher weeks ago as they were casting for the different parts (yes, the 5 year olds had to audition for the parts they desired), that they really wanted Caleigh to be Bunny Sue - that "she'd make the perfect Bunny Sue - but they weren't sure about casting her. You see, Caleigh likes to do things HER way. I know, very surprising - I don't know where she has inherited the strong will from. Her teacher went on to say that they wanted it to remain the BUNNY show and not become the CALEIGH show - if they ask for one twirl, it means ONE twirl; if they ask for 3 hops they mean THREE hops & if directions were not followed - both during class & rehearsals - that a giant hook could very well show up from the wings & drag the little ham offstage.

I agreed with her teacher & told her, "Hey, it's a learning experience. I hope she behaves herself - we'll emphasize the importance of it - but if she doesn't, maybe it's what she needs to drop the stubborn streak."

With that being said, my child became an angel for over a month. All I had to do at the slightest hint of misbehavior was say, "What, Bunny Sue?" and it would cease immediately. It was glorious.

On the other hand, when your child is chosen for the lead of a play, they don't just have a line or 2 or the same line repeated over & over again. Caleigh had quite a few lines to memorize along with 5 or 6 songs, choreography & cues. About a week into the practicing, her teach approached me, concerned that she was having great difficulty with her cues. Alessa, on the other hand, knew her lines, most of the lines of the students around her & could feed Caleigh her lines. Their teacher suggested that we make a copy of the video from the year before & let her watch that a few times. A few times soon translated to "a few times a day". We worked constantly, every day for 5 weeks, until I thought my very soul would turn black if I had to watch "Get Hoppin'" even one more time.

But I did get to see it "one more time" - the time that counted. They could not have looked any cuter up there in their bunny ears & cotton tails. Alessa had a smile that would melt even the hardest of hearts & kept flashing "I Love You" signs to us. Caleigh felt oh-so-important with her headset mic - I'm pretty sure she was envisioning herself as Pink or Katy Perry for a few moments.

The cast was on their marks on stage, the audience began to quiet, and who is the child who causes everyone to wait because she desperately had to use the bathroom? That would be my little Bunny Sue. I turned 18 shades of red & I'm sure her teacher wanted to strangle me.

I think Caleigh wanted a big entrance.

They remembered every line (Alessa mouthed EVERYONE'S lines), they sang every song with gusto (or maybe that was just because of her headset mic), and they hit every cue like seasoned pros.

I couldn't have been prouder of my monkeys.