The Comeback

So by the grace of God, the spirits of my Irish ancestors, or my PowerPoint presentation....JB said YES!

Now I know, I know, you’re probably saying “Kay, you’re 32, it’s not his decision.” This is true, but I assure you, it is 100% easier when things are a group effort and he feels included. That, and I reiterated that it can’t be the same as it was in 2019. Believe it or not, it was my mom that was the more resistant of the two, but I feel like she was also with me in the trenches last time. She was there for my highest highs and lowest lows. I also tried to explain to her that it can’t be the same. Actions speak louder than words I guess.

So here’s what I’m thinking:

-I already mentioned that it can only be one day a week. I won't be in a class where I’m paying tuition, it will be a drop in weekly private kind of situation. There might be weeks where we have family things and I won’t be able to go. I plan to take Dominik with me when I can, but if that ends up being a disaster, then I can only go when I have child care. This has to be the way it is.

-I’m planning for a higher level than I was competing in last time. I imagine it’s like riding a bike and that I’ll remember things fairly quickly, but some of my bad habits that were holding me back in the grades (Not including my brain) could be HUGE issues in prelim. I’ve been a step above sedentary for a while. I’m going to be working for a while to hopefully be ready to ever compete. I’m going to have to make the most of my time at home. It’s not going to be “if I feel like it” this time around.

-No more out of state competitions. The only one that makes me sad is East Durham, but who knows, maybe that could be a compromise if and when the time comes up. I think child care would be the bigger issue on those days as my parents would either have my son all day OR he’d be at the feis with me. I’m guessing even if I do get back to competing, it will be only once every few months and honestly...Oireachtas are a big if.

HOWEVER!

I am hopeful that this time around that things will not be as intense. I have no delusions of grandeur here. I don’t think I’m getting into open. If I do, cool, but just to be in prelim with people who are closer to my age will be enough. There will be no pressure to compete all the time because I’m already there. If I place, excellent, but I’m a mom with a full time job. If I don't, that's cool too. I’ll just be happy I’m not last. Even if I am last...it will give us things to work on. I have a feeling I won’t be allowed to compete if coming in last is the only option.

This is me saying this is writing. I can’t be as crazy as I was before.

Also, I’m going to have to make peace with Slip Jig real fast because senior ladies are dancing reel and hornpipe in a few weeks. Treble Jig will probably be fine. Probably no set at this point because it’s not needed until Open/Oireachtas and I’m not sure if Oireachtas will be in the cards right now/ever again. I’m going in with low expectations. I find that when I do that, I’m usually pleasantly surprised.

I probably won’t be starting until at least the first week of December. In the meantime, I’ve got to work on getting my baseline stamina back up, as well as flexibility. I’m hoping yoga, stationary biking, and the occasional walk around my neighborhood will be a good way to get started. I also know that toe height and turn out were my demons, so I’ve found some YouTube Videos to combat that. I’ve also started my calf raises regimen again. It helped last time…

Okay, that’s it for me. Going to surprise my former classmates with a visit in a few weeks so look forward to that.

Kay