Devree and the Drill Team

Devree decided on Saturday to try out for the drill team on Monday.
Yep.

That's how we roll here.

DAY ONE

Luckily, I had a little notice about the "mandatory" parent meeting Monday night at 5:30 pm - after the 1st day's workshop.

The parent meeting  went a little like this.

• Your daughter will need to dance four hours a day 5 days a week, starting next week. 
• She will dance June and August but will have July off so plan all your family vacations, camps and EFY during July. (This is a little late - EFY sign ups were in February and Devree and her friend, Veronica are scheduled to go the first week of June. Veronica is trying out too. Her mom leans over and whispers "What do we do?" I confidently tell her we'll just talk to the teacher after. As the meeting wears on I lean over and whisper, "I guess we'll have to call EFY and see if we can switch them to July?" Yep. It's that bad. Welcome to Nazi-drill-camp world.)
• Dance practices will start at 5:30 am during school. Time to be determined during the summer but rest assured it will be for four hours four days a week with Fridays off. 
• The girls need to run 2 miles  and do 100 crunches four times a week in addition to dance rehearsal. (Then the 105 pound, 5'5", long blond haired, my age-ish instructor said "That's a minimum - everyone should be doing that just to be healthy." Jeezsh....and I run once a week? No wonder I don't look like her!)
• No junk food. 
• No fast food. 
• Seven hours of sleep each night. 
• Nothing lower than a C. 
• And absolutely no drinking, drugs or smoking.
• No girl is guaranteed a spot in a dance - they will audition for each and every spot. 
• If your daughter is not in a dance, do not call the drill Sargent  instructor. Your daughter will know why she's not in the dance. Talk to her.
• The cost $1,200 plus the cost of the competition trip - which ran $600 last year. (Gulp) They are going to try and fly this year....to Florida or NYC.
• BUT we will be doing multiple fund raiser and workshops to raise money for the competition trip. Oh, and this involved the mothers. The mothers are expected to help host these all day dance camps at various times through the year. (Give me strength.)

BUT  then we are reassured, 

"We do not yell here, we do not call names or get in their face....we simply say 'Do it again!"." 

I keep looking at Dev. She is all a glow. Ready to take on this torture challenge. I on the other hand can't help but whisper "Are you sure you want to do this?" 

On the way out she asks if I'm going to pray she doesn't make it? No. Of course not. I would never do that. Really I wouldn't. But I can't help thinking that maybe not making it might be a blessing?

Devree is sore and spends the night practicing what she's learned and trying to stand on her head.  Apparently standing on one's head is necessary in this particular audition number.

DAY TWO
Devree has to be to her MAG meeting at 7:15 am, school all day, and then go right to drill practice after school at 3:00 until 5:30 pm.

She is very sore. Everywhere.

She takes Ibuprofen.

DAY THREE

Last day to get all the steps down.

She goes from 3-5:30 again.

She practices standing on her head for hours at home.

James sets up the cushions from the couch for her feet to hit when she falls backwards.

DAY FOUR

The day of auditions before the judges.

Dev is ready. She's had me look over her audition outfit - she's practiced and practiced. She's nervous and sore and scared and excited and I am all of the same....except sore.

We were told at Monday's parent meeting that we are welcome to come attend the big "reveal" and bring flowers or balloons and James and I decide to just show up and take her out to dinner if she makes it or not.  We plan to be there at 5:30 but Dev calls and says it's going late that the reveal won't be happening until around seven. We are getting ready to leave at 6:45 and I get a call. I can hear screaming and lots of noise in the back ground.
"Dev...did you make it?"

Silence
"Dev....are you there?"

Silence
"Dev?"
Then a very somber Devree says "Mom, will you come get me?" 

"Yes. Is it over?"

"Yes."
And click.

That was it. 

I yell for James. "Let's go....she didn't make it." 

James asks if I think she's pulling our leg?

"No, I could hear girls screaming and cheering in the back ground. If she had made it, she would have told me."

We drive to the school. 

On the way there I'm trying to dig deep for great motherly wisdom.

She comes out of the school,  head down, won't look at us.

As she's walking to the car James says, "She didn't make it. She can't even look at us or she'll cry."

I confirm that she would have needed to stay for costume fitting if she made it and since she's the only girl we see, apparently everyone else is getting fit? It's apparent she's been crying.
She throws her stuff in the back of the car and slides in.

I turn to her and ask if everything is okay and look into her watery eyes and she says,  "Yes." She is so very somber.

Then I get out all my mommy tools. Tell her how brave it was that she even tried out. That what's meant to be is for the best. I ask if her friend made it?

"Yes." And she's tells me how happy she is for her. That this is her friends dream and she's just really glad that she made it out of the two of them. (I kid you not.)

She tells me how she just forgot everything and just screwed up in front of the judges. 

We talk about what else she can try out for and how she always has basketball.

We're heading to the restaurant as we're talking and I send Veronica's mom a text:
 "Congrats to Ronnie!! Let me know if you get through to EFY and if they can switch us. Girls camp is July 17th -21st."

Then she texts me back.

"OK. Congratulations to Devree also."

I sit there in stunned silence.
What??

I turn to Devree.

"Did you make drill team???"

She screams in glee "YES!!!!"

Oh, my freaking heck!!!

I scream so loud - poor Jame is driving and stuck in this compact car with the two of us.... screaming with joy!

I am ready to hug Devree and smack her at the same time for torturing me so. It's been a good ten minutes!!

She is laughing and smiling and just euphoric!!

She made it! 

She HAD been crying.

Tears of joy.

Oh that stinker.....