Friday: We picked up Grams and left for KC. We stopped for dinner at an Italian buffet with delicious food, great for pre-feis carb loading. After we ate dad dropped mom, Jaella, and me off at the hotel while they stayed at my cousin's house. I met up with some friends and we practiced in the gym before heading to bed.
Saturday: We woke up at 6:00, put on our wigs, and ate breakfast before dad picked us up to go to the feis. Jaella was a sub on the younger ceili team this weekend (a group dance), so they practiced before getting onstage. My ceili team was supposed to compete but due to a registering difficulty we were not able to. The kids did really well and I was extremely proud of Jaella for competing a dance she only got to practice once! She was also moved up a level for solo competition and walked away with a second and a fourth. Way to go!! The feis was in a high school gym with only once musician and three stages on the same platform, separated by red tape. While the open gym was a really nice venue, having only musician caused the competitions to move really slowly.... my first dance wasn't until 1:30 and I wasn't finished until close to 7:00.
Off to the feis with Grandma in tow!
Since the last competition in February I have had surgery done on my two big toes. This was perhaps one of the most painful and discouraging physical experiences I have ever gone through. The doctor sounded very hopeful that I would heal quickly, but as week after week passed things weren't really improving. He prescribed some medicine to help fight infection and told me to keep soaking and bandaging them. Finally, after about the fourth week he said things had taken a turn for the better. The acid he used to keep the ingrown part of the nail from growing back can cause some people to have a severe reaction..... he informed me that in all his years of practice mine was the second worst reaction he has seen. As painful as it was, the surgery has definitely been worth it. I can now dance on my toes with little to no pain.
Hanging out in the champ room before competing
With this improvement I was excited to see how well I could do. My goal was to get at least one first place. I felt pretty confident about each dance, but waited until the end to check my results. As I headed to the results room my mom already knew what I would find, but she didn't give anything away. I placed first in three out of four dances I need to move up to PC. Only one more to go!!!
God's hand was very evident this weekend in more ways than one. First off, it worked out that most of my competitions grew big enough to be split into two groups and judged separately. The previously mentioned girl from my school and I ended up being in separate groups. This allowed us both to place really well and not have to deal with the complex situation of competing against a fellow classmate. Also, several other girls from my school accomplished big goals such as qualifying for PC and Oireachtas, and winning 1st place their very first time in OC! Competitions aside, I was able to get to know some of the girls from my school a little better and continue cultivating other relationships. This weekend went way beyond my expectations and leaves me motivated to continue putting in all the hard work.
A successful weekend!
No comments:
Post a Comment