Hula Lessons and More

My friend Laurianne invited the kids to learn the hula. Laurianne grew up in Hawaii and danced for the Polynesian Cultural Center. She is an amazing dancer and will be teaching dance classes at the Morton Center this fall. In preparation, she taught a group of children The Hukilau so they could perform it at Global Fest last weekend.

I was thrilled to have Logan and Bergen be among those invited to participate. They were excited too. They enjoyed the practices and had fun playing with the other kids afterward. In fact, they're still asking when we're going to have a play date with John! (I'm going to have to get on that.)

Unfortunately, when I put the performance on the calendar, the date didn't register. A few weeks into practice though, I realized things weren't going to work out.

Craig and Logan have a tradition that can't be broken. They've been going to the US Nationals every year for the last three years and will continue going for ever. Since they have their day, Bergen and I have established a girls day out for that same time each year. This year it was September 4th. Labor Day weekend. It's always Labor Day weekend.

Why didn't I look at the calendar more closely? I felt like a heel.

I spoke to Craig and we decided to let Logan choose what he wanted to do. We both knew the answer before we asked the question. He wanted to go to the nationals. I had made plans to go to Chicago and for a minute I seriously considered the possibility of not going. I even thought if I left super early I might be able to get home in time for Bergen to perform in the evening. Then I found out that the dancing was going to take place during the middle of the day.

I felt sick. I didn't want to let anyone down. I also didn't want to miss going to IKEA! This was my chance and there were things I needed to get! So I made my decision and told Laurianne neither of my children would be performing with the group. I didn't even take them to the last practice because I didn't think it would be fair for her to go through a dress rehearsal with kids who weren't going to be there for the real thing. And because I didn't have the heart to tell Berg she wouldn't be performing...

So Saturday came and we set off on our adventures. Craig called me once and left a message at Logan's request. They had a great day! Bergen and me, not so much. Not that it was awful; it just wasn't what I expected.

Maren came over on time and we left late as usual. Then Google Maps took us on a detour near Gary. A big one. It took us much longer than it should have to arrive at our desired destination. We were tired and hungry and it was lunchtime when we got to Schaumburg so we ate at The Cheesecake Factory (yum) before going shopping. I had a plan for my trip. There were things I wanted, and things I needed, and I was going to find them. I only found one thing on my list. Maren found a few more.

Long story short, we stopped at The Rack to look for shoes after leaving IKEA. Shoes were on my list, but no shoes were found and the place was crowded and stinky and the line was so long that I wouldn't have had the patience to stand in it if I had found the shoes of my dreams anyway. I was glad there was a McDonald's nearby so we could get a beverage before heading home.


Now that I've had time to mull things over I'm wondering if I should just have stayed home and let Bergen perform the hula. It most certainly would have made for a nicer day. Not that I didn't have fun with you Maren.

And in case you're wondering, Bergen was perfect in the car all the way to Chicago - and all the way back!