Do a Little Dance, Bake a Little Love, Get Crowned Tonight: Tioga's Got Talent

Yesterday, the day was off to a very early (but great) start. Here's the play-by-play:

4:50 a.m.: Alarm sounds, waking Sleeping Snooty from a good dream. She rolls out of her high-rise bed, plants both feet on the ground and shuffles over to the armoire for, you guessed it, workout clothes. It's BodyPump time in t-minus 40 minutes!

5:00 a.m.: Clothes on, washing face, reminding myself that Starbucks medium roast is waiting on me in the lobby of the MAC

5:10 a.m.: Almost ready to leave--lacing up the sneaks, catch one last glance of myself in the mirror and, alas, my pants are on inside out. It's still dark, people... At least I have an excuse this time...once, I went a whole day with my yoga pants on backwards. Never having been an issue, I spent the whole day tugging them up in the back, noticed a Nike check on my right cheek, and thought, "Hey, that's kinda unusual...but I like it." Moment of realization: Pulling them back up in the bathroom and reading the inner-front band--"Nike Dri-Fit made in Thailand." Oye Vey.

5:30-6:25 a.m.: Rock it out in class : )

7:15 a.m.: Hit the road for Pineville, LA to emcee Tioga Elementary's Talent Show!

8:45 a.m.: Pull into the parking lot and, upon checking in, I'm greeted with smiling faces and first-rate hugs!

9:00 a.m.: The fun begins...

Ahh, talent shows... I used to be quite the enthusiast. As a young girl, any chance to perform on-stage was met with three words: Sign. Me. Up. I hold fond memories from elementary school talent shows in 97', 98', and 99'--my 4th, 5th, & 6th grade years at Jack Hayes. For my fourth grade debut, I sang "Every Heart Beat Belongs to You," by Amy Grant. After the intro, I popped up from behind a colossal cardboard heart (made by none other than Onna Gallagher) that had "Hope" written across it in flashing lights and a 3400 font. Evidently, no one sent my mother the memo that it was but a humble production... not a Broadway production. Good 'ole Nonnie has always gone above and beyond!

The next year, I wanted to step it up a bit and do something less old-fashioned, more current. My 5th grade mind decided on a selection that was sure to be a crowd pleaser. I approached Mom with the brilliant idea and this is how it went:

MOM: Have you given any thought to what you might sing in the talent show, baby? I think "Part of Your World" would be beautiful on your voice and you could have a treasure chest with your "collection" of treasures on top to use for props...

HOPE: *moaning & groaning* Mom, I don't want to sing a Disney song! I wanna do something popular... like the other kids do...

MOM: Okay, like what?

HOPE: ...Well... like..."Scrub"

MOM: What's "Scrub"?

HOPE: ........You know... that song, "I don't want no scrub, a scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me..."

MOM: .......................Hope, we may do a lot of things around here, but scrubbin' ain't one of them...

*end of discussion*

What song did I sing, you ask? If you guessed "Part of Your World," you'd be correct. And where did I place in the talent show? First... Yep, Nonnie knew what she was talking about. Turns out "I've got gadgets and gizmos a plenty" was much more engaging than a song with too many double negatives to count. To this day, we still don't scrub...

This was my second trip to Tioga Elementary and the students were as sweet as ever, attentive, and, yes, really talented! I was so impressed by the variety of talents these Kindergarden through 6th graders had--everything from magic tricks to singing while playing guitar, dancing, and acrobats--I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them and hope they'll have me back soon!