Send in the Clowns

Around the time my mom found out that she was pregnant with my second sister, Sarah, she decided that she and I should have a special activity together so I wouldn't feel neglected when the new baby arrived. So, she signed us up for mother/daughter tap classes.

Now, what you can't tell from this photo is that my mother didn't really realize when she signed us up for the classes that by the time the recital rolled around, she would be 8 months pregnant.

Everyone picked their own costumes, and my mom and I had to go with the clown outfit because it was the only one that could accomodate her rather big belly.

Of course, my father was terrified by this whole venture, as it is hard to imagine wanting your very pregnant wife to get into somewhat precarious tap shoes and start throwing herself around stage. Plus, if you know my father, risk is his arch nemesis, so something like this was just too much for him.

I'm sure my father tried to talk my mother out of this recital on a daily basis, but I was insistent that if we had gone through all the classes, my mother could not deny me my big moment on stage. And, she didn't. We danced in all of our polka-dotted, pom-pom button glory in May 1985.

So, if I ever doubt that my mother loves me, all I have to do is remember the time she got on stage, pregnant and in a clown costume, to tap dance with me in front of a rather large crowd of strangers.

On a quick sidenote, there was 1 boy in mother/daughter tap class. His mother didn't have any daughters and really, really wanted to participate in some sort of mother/child performance. Years later, that boy from tap class was one of the stars on the WB network's short-lived series "The Mountain." You have to wonder if he would have gotten so far without those tap classes...