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05/29/2005 Archived Entry: "hula girl"

Yesterday morning I set off with both girls to head to a house of a sister-in-law of one of the halau members so the halau could practice for the upcoming ho'ike. It was supposed to be 9-12, but by 11:45 they had only rehearsed half the show. Chris left work about that time and came out to me so he could take Daisy. It actually wasn't that hard dealing with her. I was stressed all morning though wondering how this was going to work. I was going into an unknown situation and that always stresses me out anyway. Add taking care of a sometimes temperamental baby to the mix and I was stressed to the max. While we were getting ready in the morning, I told Tabitha that if I had zero issues with her and complete co-operation from her then when we got home she could do absolutely anything she wished. She knew a good deal when she heard it and agreed. Once we were at the house and I saw what the set-up was like, I felt better. It helped that Daisy not only did not scream in the car, but fell asleep 5 minutes after we left our house. So Tabitha joined the halau members for their warm-up exercises and then everyone was getting separated into their classes to work on their dance numbers. Another mom and I took that as our cue to leave the backyard as it was getting crowded at that point (even though the backyard was HUGE!). She and I took Daisy for a walk around the neighborhood then changed her and fed her and after awhile Daisy went back to sleep and then woke and ate again. Basically we just talked together all morning while amusing the baby. It was actually pretty nice, even if we were stuck in a driveway or standing on the sidewalk. Once Chris came and left, my friend and I continued talking until it seemed like everything was drawing to a close so we went back into the backyard. What do I see? My kid running on the grass having a gay old time. Everyone was complaining about how long this was taking and how tired they were. Not my kid, she just considered it one big play date. She was having an absolute blast. I knew she wasn’t hungry because I sent her with plenty of food and drinks were provided to keep her hydrated. When she wasn’t supposed to be dancing, she just played with other kids who weren’t dancing at that moment either. Then it was time for her to do one last dance and I stood there to watch. I can definitely say she's improving every week. This particular number is more difficult than the other two dances she knows as it's a different style (modern, as opposed to traditional hula). One thing the girls do is say a Hawai'ian word before each verse to kind of tell what the verse is about. All the girls are supposed to say it, but Tabitha is the only one who says every kahea and knows exactly what to say. One of the moms/dancers came up to me and asked if I work with her at home, which I do not as I do not know the kaheas. She then asked how Tabitha knew them. I just said because she is supposed to and that happens to be a strength of hers. After they were done, another halau member came to me and told me it was a delight to watch my daughter dance. Not to mention one other member told me all the little ones were complaining about the drums tied to their legs except my kid. I was quite the proud mama, let me tell you.
After we left and met up with Chris and Daisy, all of us changed clothes and then headed to a Hawai'ian Cafe that happens to be a mile from our house. There we enjoyed a buffet, friendship and entertainment put on by the halau's Kumu and other halau musicians. It was a really fun time and we stayed for a few hours which is unheard of with me being so anti-social, lol. While Tabitha was in line for food, an entire table of halau members told her how wonderful she does on her kaheas. Let's hope she doesn't get a swelled head.
Once home again, we didn't really do much of anything, though I did manage to get my walk in and play a game with Tabitha. She also chose her reward activity and decided playing the sprinklers was it. By 9 o'clock I was completely wiped out so Chris convinced me to just go to bed.
Today was another packed day, but I'll write about that later.