Birthday Doin's

Okay, today I'm the birthday girl, and it's been a busy day for me so far--so I never got around to blogging this morning.  I thought that it was a good day to post this picture of myself, taken fifty years ago--that's right, a HALF A CENTURY ago--when I was taking tap and ballet lessons.  If you needed a good laugh, you're probably having one now.  Don't feel bad about that, though; this photo makes me laugh, too.

I was four when this picture was taken, so now you know how old I am today.  I'm dressed this way because I was getting ready to perform in a number called "Donkey Doin's" at a dance recital.  My mother tells me that she signed me up for dance lessons because I was painfully shy and she thought it would help me come out of my shell.  And apparently, much to her surprise, it worked.  She said I loved being up on stage.

But who can blame me for wanting to show off this getup?  It's something else again, isn't it?

I never had any little girls of my own to enroll in dance classes, and my boys weren't showmen.  Hopefully, my twin granddaughters will have dance recitals for Papa and me to attend someday.  Four-year-old dancers must be a hoot to watch...especially when they're doin' "Donkey Doin's" and wearing costumes like this!

I was a lot cuter back then than I am now...a lot more dewy-skinned and less wrinkly.  And I could get away with short hair at four, too, though I've worn it long most of my adult life.  At four, most hairdos work.  (I could even get away with crooked bangs--bangs that I decided to trim myself, right before the big recital, much to my mom's chagrin!)

This morning, our youngest son (who's been working at the movie theater this summer) got free tickets for my husband and me, and the three of us went to a showing of "Batman--The Dark Knight Rises."  What a great birthday treat!  You might have thought that I'd want to go and see the latest romantic comedy to hit the big screen, but remember: I raised five sons (and no daughters--no dance recital participants).  So mother-son movie dates are usually action films!  But I really enjoyed it.  If you haven't seen it yet and you enjoyed the first two Christian Bale "Batman" movies, you'll love the third installment of the trilogy.

Well, that's about it from here.  Soon, my husband and I are going to head out for some steak doin's at the Texas Roadhouse.  But don't worry: I won't be sporting a cow costume.