The Nutcracker has been a central part of our Christmas season for the last 12 years Kara has had varies roles in the Nutcracker. Two roles stand apart from all the rest, Her Clara year and her last year. All the years were special and joy for her family to watch her performances. Steve and I have enjoyed every year as we reminisced during each show about her former roles while at the same time enjoying her new dances.  Her sister-in law Lyn Rose and brother Evan have the distinction of attending every year! Lyn Rose first met my son, her husband Brent the first year Kara danced in the Nutcracker. 

The Clara Year- 

The first year Kara was performing in the Nutcracker sets the stage for her future.  The cart wheel Bon Bon! I remember being back stage sitting on the stairs with the other Bon Bons while she waited to perform her cartwheel during entrance. I recall thinking how self-assured you looked standing there with all of the more accomplished dancers. I think that may have been the first glimpse God gave me of her future as a dancer. He opened the curtain of Kara’s life for a brief moment giving me the opportunity to see her as the dancer she has become.  And then the walk to the car…I said to her, “Bon Bon this year what will it be next year? “Without skipping a beat she said, “Clara Mommy! I know I am too young but one day maybe!” That dream would be realized when she was fourteen years old. 

It finally came to pass “The Clara year”…a dream come true for her and a delight for me! 

The Clara role is more than a dance it is a secret club complete with special events…to secret to mention here!  All the preparation, all the rehearsals, the first pau dance, being lifted, everything was exciting and all was taking her to a new level in her young dance career. 

The anticipation was growing…

And then the stomach flu swept through the company and landed on my daughter the night of her stage rehearsal. She thought all was lost. We started praying! Thankfully her dress rehearsal was a few days away, time for the recovery. She was weak though and only made it through the first act and barely that. The pau dance did her in…down she went! Brian, (the Nutcracker) was so sweet to her as she rested a moment and regained her composure.  Caroline (one of the other Clara’s cast that year) completed the dress rehearsal by filling in for her for the second act. Kara went home and slept. The next two days she finally started eating proper meals she was back to her normal self in time for her first show.

Kara’s first night of performing she were amazing! As I sat in the audience wearing pink, as was a requirement for the Clara moms, I was awe struck. She shone ever so brightly on that stage and her acting ability was recognized. She was Clara that weekend! I remember Mrs. Hitric telling me she was made for that role. Mr Maroni said, “she knocked it out of the park!” someone else said, “I felt as if I was at that Christmas party, Kara just drew me in!” and so many others. It is a year we will always treasure! Many friends and family members came to see you perform, you did not disappoint!

We thought maybe this role would be taken from her due to her stomach flu but God had other plans. He used the stomach flu to make her dance even more beautifully.

The final Year Kara was cast in her most desired role since Clara, Dew Drop, she was also cast as Soldier Doll, Petit Fours and Snow Flake. This her last year was going to be extra special. So many memories were made and will remain treasured in the Nutcracker photos that we have saved. This year like so many in the past, rehearsals started in October and due to so many roles she was booked every weekend rehearsing for multiple roles on the same evenings. We were praying for no injuries!

Ten days before her first show I went upstairs to say good morning and she was laying in the fetal position complaining about severe abdominal pain. I asked her where the pain was the worst and she said the lower right side. I did a quick google search and read this was indicative of appendicitis! I quickly brought her to our family doctor who said it could also be an ovarian cyst. This actually seemed like good news to us. The Doctor did send us to the ER as he wanted to rule out appendicitis. When we arrived at the hospital the ER Doctor also said he thought she had a 1% chance of having to have her appendix removed and also thought the issue was something else. We were still hopeful. We had by this time told all the Doctors and nurses who were taking care of Kara of her upcoming performance. Finally, they took Kara to have an ultrasound and with this test it was discovered that it indeed was appendicitis!  When that Doctor told us she would have to have surgery she started crying and then I too began to cry. 

Would she miss the opportunity to dance as the Dew Drop role, was she going to miss this Nutcracker, would I miss watching her one last time dancing in the beloved Nutcracker. As the tech knew of her roles she quickly told Kara not to be worried she thought God would heal her in time so she could perform and she would pray for Kara! Then the porter came to wheel her to the surgery area and as he was pushing her in the wheel chair he was also saying he knew God would help her and heal her so she could dance. By this time I was smiling on the inside, God in His mercy had sent us two people to give us the encouragement He knew we needed!

Now we just had to wait for the surgeon to arrive and asses her condition. Apparently when he arrived on the floor Kara’s nurse approached him and told him about her need to dance in 10 days. So when he came in to see Kara he was ready for the big question, would she be able to perform without further injuring herself? He first asked us if she had a partnering role and whether or not she would be lifted? When we answered no to both questions he said ok she can dance but it may be a little uncomfortable. We were overjoyed!

It this time he left the room and I called her ballet teacher who was more concerned for Kara then the Nutcracker!  The Doctor had scheduled surgeries he need to perform and then he would take care of Kara. The nurse thought she should be under the knife about 3PM. At 4PM she discovered the surgeon was still in surgery. The same was true all evening! We arrived at the hospital about 11 AM and by 9:30 the nurse who was assisting the surgeon came to our room to report that the patent they were working on had more problem then they anticipated and the surgery was not going well. She was hopeful Kara would have her surgery that evening before 11:00. When the nurse left the room I looked at Kara and my husband and said we should pray for the patient and the Doctor which we promptly did.

The Doctor finally came to Kara’s room at 10:30PM. When he arrived I asked how he and his patient were doing and he looked at me and said things were not going well until about 9:30. I told him that was when we prayed for the situation. He looked at me and said, “Well that must be why things improved!” God is so cool! So Kara had her surgery and it was performed using a laparoscope so her recovery would be quick allowing her to perform. The first few days she was in a lot of pain but by the end of the first week she was doing very well. She told me a few days after her surgery that she was thanking God for the appendicitis. She told me the Bible is very clear that we should be thankful for everything. “I know God will bring something good out of this situation” she said. I was very proud of her. Years before this I had both my kids memories 

Philippians 4:4-8 (NIV)

Final Exhortations

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Kara was living out these verses. I was very thankful and proud of my sweet girl!

We had an appointment set up for the Wednesday before her first show for her follow-up post surgery. When we arrived we were seen by our Doctors partner. When we told him of Kara’s plans for Friday night he asked when was the last time she danced and then quickly added that he too used to dance in the Nutcracker and then said, “how soon will she have the opportunity to rehearse her roles?” When we told him there was a dress rehearsal that evening he replied, “Get her on the dance floor so she does not injure herself in some other way! Wow, I did mention before God is so cool!

So that night I drove Kara to the high school for the rehearsal and on the way she told me how loved she felt by God! Kara danced that night and all her friends gave her a round of applause!

That first evening she was performing Dew Drop and she was stunning. The joy that radiated from her was evident to all who watched. That whole weekend she danced better than she ever had before! Her teachers all told me how beautiful she was. 

Romans 8:28  Version (NIV)

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose.

I believe that she danced so beautifully, so full of joy because she felt so loved by God I also believe she felt so loved by God 

because she was thankful for the appendicitis.

God received all the glory that weekend. Every time someone told me how wonderful she danced I said the same thing, To God be the glory, great things he has done.

It was an awesome last Nutcracker in many ways and I will never forget how God took care of my daughter! For me as I send Kara off to a place far away this summer I will remember how God cared for my sweet daughter and chose to trust Him with her as she heads off done the path He has chosen for her. 

God gave us both a gift this Christmas…Kara has her own beautiful God story and I have the confidence I will need to send my daughter to her next dance adventure without me. I have told her I will travel and see her perform as much as I am able to!

Enjoy the Journey~