Diagnosis complete

I have a slightly depressed daughter. Good thing I completely understand her symptoms. Good thing I have gone through the same thing myself. Good thing I know the exact thing that will cure her even though it's going to be about a month before the medicine kicks in. She is suffering from tour-is-over-itis!!! Let me post some pictures so everyone can better understand this tragic illness.

"Tour-is-over-itis" happens to everyone who is lucky enough to be a part of Colleen Collins Smith's School of Performing Arts Summer Dance Tour. This was Allison's first time going and I'm sure it won't be her last.

Can you think of anything more fun than boarding a huge charter bus full of some of your favorite friends and spending the next 11 days performing and playing all over southern California? I can't!!

26 years ago I boarded a similar bus and had some of my fondest teenage memories from a little thing called "tour." A time when I didn't need more than a few hours of sleep. A time when I could ride 15 rollercoasters in a row and not feel sick. A time when I could run around amusement parks day after hot day and not feel tired. A time when I didn't mind dancing in 100+ degree weather because I was on stage with all my friends. A time that I will forever remember as the highlight of my adolescence.

I was probably even more excited than Allison to see her off on tour because I knew what fun lay ahead and what amazing memories she would have. I am so glad that it was everything, if not more, than she expected. I'm so glad that she was able to bond with so many great friends. I'm so glad that it has motivated her to stretch and get her splits down once and for all, finally! I'm so glad that she was able to have this wonderful opportunity!

Brendan and I drove down to California to spend some time with my brother and his family (details on that will be on a forthcoming post) and to sneak a peek of Allison on tour. It was a little weird, and sad, to not have any kids with us on our long drive. But it was very nice to be together and have so much time to talk. We never run out of things to say. It's great!

We were able to spend one day of "tour' with Allison at Magic Mountain. It happened to be "super hero" day. Her friends swooshed through the park and had a blast.

Thankfully they all wanted us to hang out with them the whole day and we loved every minute of riding rides and hearing all of their stories. We went on "X-2" for the first time ever. I personally LOVE rollercoasters, but this one was the scariest one I have EVER been on. The track is above you the whole time. We sat on the very front row and there is no predicting what is about to happen next. I have never been so freaked out in my life. I'm glad I went, but it's probably a once in a lifetime experience.

Allison was able to perform at The Queen Mary, Adventure City, Knotts Berry Farm, Magic Mountain, Universal Studios Hollywood, Disneyland twice and California Adventure. They also got to go to Sea World in San Diego and the a few beaches just for fun. She said one of her most favorite parts of tour was going to Denny's with everyone each night after they got back to the hotel.

I can only picture how crazy a bunch of overly-tired teenagers can be at midnight ordering at Denny's.

But there is one problem. The sadness when it's all over is overwhelming. After spending all of June and July busy at rehearsals and local dance shows you kind of forget what it's like to sit around in the summer. You come home and say to yourself, "Now what?" You start looking at the calendar and fretting that it's still 5-6 weeks until dance starts all over again. You start missing your "dance" friends who don't necessarily live close enough to hang out with all the time. You re-live every dance tour memory over and over again.

SAYING GOODBYE:

So my friends, there you have it. The diagnosis is complete. We now wait until mid September until her life can resume to normal when dance starts again. And the whole cycle begins anew!