{"id":2247,"date":"2012-12-16T01:27:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-16T01:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2012\/12\/fun-and-forgetting-at-the-nutcracker.html"},"modified":"2012-12-16T01:27:00","modified_gmt":"2012-12-16T01:27:00","slug":"fun-and-forgetting-at-the-nutcracker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2012\/12\/fun-and-forgetting-at-the-nutcracker.html","title":{"rendered":"Fun and forgetting at The Nutcracker"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
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Almost a year ago, before my wife\u2019s income was severed by a computer program in New York City, we\u00a0purchased\u00a0tickets to Columbus BalletMet\u2019s annual production of The Nutcracker<\/i>. \u00a0The first time I ever attended a performance of\u00a0Tchaikovsky\u2019s\u00a0famous ballet was our first year of marriage. \u00a0A\u00a0couple\u00a0friends at seminary were\u00a0helping\u00a0us move into new student housing. \u00a0After a particularly\u00a0taxing\u00a0load, one of them mentioned they had tickets to the\u00a0Cincinnati\u00a0Ballet\u2019s production. \u00a0He asked if we\u2019d like to go, and I said sure, why not. \u00a0They couldn\u2019t go, why waste the tickets. <\/p>\n

It was a snowy night, and we drove to\u00a0Cincinnati\u00a0on the same evening, with plans to make the drive back to Louisville, probably owing to obligations at school. \u00a0It was one of those magical times where everything worked. \u00a0We got there early (as I am wont to do when\u00a0going\u00a0somewhere I\u2019ve never \u00a0been), and had plenty of time to walk around the area. \u00a0We found a jazz\u00a0restaurant\u00a0that served Cajun, and had a ball. \u00a0Then we\u00a0indulged\u00a0in the atmosphere of the\u00a0performance\u00a0and the theater \u2013 complete with a choir singing Christmas carols, the\u00a0decor, the performance. \u00a0It was magic.<\/p>\n

Since then, we\u2019ve tried to go as often as possible. \u00a0Sometimes it\u2019s been a great experience. \u00a0Sometimes not so great. \u00a0We\u2019ve gone to different productions in different cities. \u00a0In 2000, we began going to BalletMet. \u00a0The first\u00a0performance\u00a0was less than inspiring, but we came back a couple\u00a0years\u00a0later, when the boys were old enough. \u00a0Things got better, and over the years we\u2019ve probably gone four or five times as a family. \u00a0Two years ago we took in a matinee, and the audience was about as lackluster as you can imagine, which impacted the performers accordingly. \u00a0But earlier this year, we had the change to buy\u00a0tickets\u00a0as ridiculously low prices, so we jumped on it. \u00a0It turned out to be a good decision, as it\u2019s the one thing we could do that actually cost money this year. \u00a0We couldn\u2019t take our youngest, he\u2019s still too young. \u00a0But next year, we\u2019ll take the whole gang. <\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t easy. \u00a0The shooting\u00a0Friday\u00a0still casts a pall on everything, and it was at times tough not to imagine what those families had planned with their loved ones and their children for the weekend. \u00a0Still, life must go on, and we owed it to our boys to help them through the tough year we\u2019ve had. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t compare to anything those families in Connecticut are going through of course, but not all tough times need to be on the same level to be tough nonetheless. \u00a0So we went, and enjoyed. \u00a0We even got to eat out. \u00a0So altogether, a welcome break from the sorrows of the last couple days, as we remember those who lost loved ones, as well as others who have lost loved ones who the world will never hear about. \u00a0Peace to them all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Anxiously waiting for the curtain to rise; it was worth it \u2013 one of the best productions we\u2019ve seen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
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The great\u00a0chandelier; the interior\u00a0adds volumes to the experience<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
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Heading in, I don\u2019t know what was going on with our\u00a0eighth\u00a0grader, but our oldest \u00a0looks good<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
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See camera, strike pose<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
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In a small balcony ledge before heading into the auditorium<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
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We still missed him, who is here looking pretty excited about decorating the tree tomorrow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
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A rare shot of Mom and Dad, courtesy of our oldest across the foyer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Almost a year ago, before my wife\u2019s income was severed by a computer program in New York City, we\u00a0purchased\u00a0tickets to Columbus BalletMet\u2019s annual production of The Nutcracker. \u00a0The first time I ever attended a performance of\u00a0Tchaikovsky\u2019s\u00a0famous ballet was our first year of marriage. \u00a0A\u00a0couple\u00a0friends at seminary were\u00a0helping\u00a0us move into new student housing. \u00a0After a particularly\u00a0taxing\u00a0load, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2805,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nFun and forgetting at The Nutcracker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Almost a year ago, before my wife's income was severed by a computer program in New York City, 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