Running for the lemons




If you have been reading here for any length of time you will know that a grey day is sure to send me running for the lemons.




Today has been downright deep grey, the sort of rain that surely should not come on a warm July day. So I reached for the lemons and baked a cake.



This grey wet day my scrumptious eight year old Tilly had her perfect skin painted in blue eye-shadow, pink blusher, lips where painted red. She has so been looking forward to that part, so pleased to see it written in black white - "make-up must be worn". Her unruly long curls were scraped back and constructed in a bun, lacquered into sticky rigidity.

The weekend of the ballet show.

She looked in the mirror when I finished. Was silent for a moment. Then said "I don't think children should wear make-up". We smiled and laughed and hugged.

We watched her dance. So glad that we could pick her out, so happy that she could seem us too. We had inappropriate fits of the giggles too, the Technical Advisor and I, the sort of silent, stomach aching, eye-watering laughter that make you think you might die if you have to hold them in any longer. The row of seats shook with our convulsions.




And I wept a little. When they all came back for the encore and I saw her shining face. She is so very tired, it has been such work and there are several more shows to go but I saw her eyes shine out and I remembered how good it is to be a part of something and I cried with happiness.

Comments

Beautiful and so wonderful that you wrote it all down while it was fresh in your mind and heart. This will be fun to return to.
Unknown said…
I truly enjoyed reading this post. You are a wonderful writer. Thank you for the post.
We're building up - next weekend is Florence's ballet show and she is so exhausted with all the practise, but excited to be up there on the big stage. I do hope she is not done up with too much war paint.

Next weekend I will be feeling all that you did this weekend.

Enjoy the rest of it,

Nina x
kristina said…
Oh how lovely! I baked a lemon cake yesterday too (for the allotment cafe) but no wonderful story to go with it. Off the serve it up now!

K x
Annie said…
Ooh, you've just evoked memories of my own little girls in their first ballet school performance, dressed as bunnies both, with mascara whiskers to go with the eyeshadow and lip gloss, and wearing white fur bunny ears with pink velvet lining that I had made for the occasion. I expect there was cake then too, though I can't recall what kind.

I hope your little miss enjoys herself as much as my two did :D
Anonymous said…
Little ones make us so proud, don't they?

You have made me want lemon cake now, but I know that I won't make one.
Charity said…
Lovely, really lovely.

We've had so many grey, rainy days here this summer, too. Sigh. It just doesn't seem right, does it?
dragonfly said…
I reached for lemons (and limes) but mine went into a large gin and tonic!
Elizabeth said…
Tilly is EIGHT?? How did that happen?

I'll send you some heat-wave if you send some rain.
I do love the idea of lemons saving a grey day. You've made them sweet! Hugo's nieces love to plaster the makeup on too, the ten year old wears mascara every day, and my mother-in-law actually said, well she has such pale eye lashes, like it was a good reason for a child to be wearing makeup. She's ten years old! I am, very, very old fashioned when it comes to makeup on children, it always makes me a little horrified! Vanessa xxx
millefeuilles said…
Yes to lemons! My osteopath told me that lemon juice is a far better pick-me-up than any sugar laden treat: it's the ascorbic acid that gives you an enormous boost.

I adore lemon drizzle cake although I end up eating most of it in my family so that goes against the osteopath's advice ;-)

I had tears in my eyes reading about your daughter's radiant face on stage. I know how you felt.

Finally I totally agree with Vanessa's comment about girls and make-up. On stage it's different, right?

I hope we all get some sun soon...
Bethany said…
This just touched my heart. My daughter is already 14 and it seems things like this have passed for us. She still doesn't want to wear make-up though, and I'm so glad for that! Being a parent is such a privilege.

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