A Time to Laugh

Recently my husband had the opportunity to introduce our friend, ZandB, to a previously unfamiliar adult beverage. Reading the label as ZandB enjoyed this beverage had me in stitches - it so accurately describes him!!!

http://www.theakstons.co.uk/LA/OldPeculier.htm

In fact, even the advertisements on that website are appropriate:

“…with a character all its own”
“…has a large and enthusiastic following… all around the world”
“… ‘The Legend’… with a long history”

(I so enjoy time together with our dance friends... We're a diverse group with a common interest, and it sure is fun to laugh together!)

Thanks for supporting this dancer’s family…

If you've read the post just before this one, then you already know of the recent sad news from Maryland. On Thursday, September 14, a dancer from the Teelin School of Irish Dance and her father both died in an ocean swimming incident. The Teelin website has a memorial page:

http://www.teelin.com/amy.htm

But the reason I am posting this message today is not to share the news, it is instead to say THANK YOU! The Irish dance community is truly an amazing community! If you choose to visit Amy’s memorial page, be sure to scroll all the way down and read the messages from families all over the world. The outpourings of condolences, prayers, and offers for support have been overwhelming, and are so gratefully appreciated! Please read the letter from the Martins. This is a family of strong faith and deep love which WILL carry them through this tragedy, especially with the support of caring individuals like you!

MAIDS, DAIDS, and dancers come together in good times and bad. Both the laughter and the tears shared together are equally precious. Teelin School of Irish Dance is certainly feeling that right now, and thanks to message boards like this one, it is also being felt literally across the world.

Amy Martin was a talented young dancer who performed with the Teelin Irish Dance Company. She didn’t compete in feiseanna, not because she lacked interest, simply because she was the second oldest child in a family of six girls, all home schooled, and feising requires a different level of family commitment than the performances do. Nevertheless, at the Baltimore Feis two days after Amy and her Dad’s deaths, the feis committee offered a moment of silence to pay respect not only to the lives lost, but also to Amy’s friends and teachers who were present at the feis that day. That is a prime example of the great good within the Irish dance community, and personally, I am forever grateful to the Broesler School of Irish Dance for that act of kindness!

So, thanks, friends! I’m proud to be a part of this Irish dance community! May we share more laughter than tears, but be there for each other through both…

A Time to Grieve

The week of July 31-August 4, 2006, was camp week for the members of two troupes of the Teelin Irish Dance Company. One of those days, amateur photographer extraordinaire, ZandB, generously took a day off work to come to the studio and photograph each dancer so that troupe portraits could be hung in the studio lobby.

That morning, the dancers arrived with their red school dresses, wigs and tiaras. ZandB arrived with his "toys": camera, lenses, tripod, fabric backdrop, and two new studio lights. The first dancer to be photographed was 15-year-old Amy. With extreme patience, Amy sat, stood, sat again, turned this way, that way... while the master photographer found the lighting and angle that he sought. Meanwhile, Amy's Dad, Doug Martin, quietly moved around the studio with his own camera, snapping pictures of his daughter.

There are certain people who have a gentle grace evident to anyone they meet. Amy and her Dad shared that grace with us. Their quiet smiles and simple goodness flowed freely, and the love that they shared for each other was overwhelming to witness, especially that morning. Amy didn't fidget, roll her eyes, or even comment on how long her portrait session was taking since she was first. That wasn't her way. Doug didn't interfere, or even seek to offer any advice. He smiled appreciatively, and took pictures of his own without intruding. For Doug and Amy, this morning was simply a fun opportunity to capture a picture of a dancer. And the smiles that they shared when their eyes connected with each other were almost giddy. They were so very genuine. Never was a father's love for his daughter more evident than Doug's. Never was a daughter's love her father more evident than Amy's.

Never, ever, did I think that I would be writing this, or posting this portrait for this purpose...

Amy and her father both died on Thursday, September 14, 2006, after an ocean swimming accident. Please keep Jeanne Martin (mother and wife) and Amy's five sisters in your prayers, along with all Martin family and friends.

Amy Martin

April 13, 1991 - September 14, 2006

http://www.teelin.com/amy.htm

For everything, there is a time.

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance.
Ecclesiastes 3:4

Jeanne Martin home schools her daughters. Amy was the second oldest of six girls. For anyone who may be interested, donations for educational scholarships for the five surviving daughters may be made payable to "The Doug and Amy Martin Memorial Education Fund" and mailed to:

Education Fund

c/o Mr. Dale Murphy, Trustee

P.O. Box 222

Gambrills, MD 21054

Is It About Winning?

As of this summer, my family has officially lost “rookie” status in the feis world. Our first feis was the Nation’s Capital Feis, July 24, 2005, so we’ve recently rounded the one year mark. (Given the severity of my “addiction”, though, we probably actually passed the symptoms of rookie status a bit sooner than most.)

Anniversaries are generally a good time to reminisce, so I’m taking this opportunity to contemplate our feising experience thus far. By all standards, Katie has had an extremely successful first year of competing. But what, truly, is our motivation to feis? Is it about winning?

In the spring of 2005, when her teacher first suggested that I consider entering Katie in a feis, I was very resistant. Like her mother, my daughter has a strong pacifist streak in her, and tended to shy away from highly competitive environments. For example, when we played Candy Land together, Katie wouldn’t let the game end until all of the players had reached the top of the game board. It wasn’t about who was first, it was the fun of playing until all of the players arrived at the Candy Castle for a big party. Was this benevolent young soul ready to face the reality of winning versus losing in solo dance competitions?

Yet, armed with an optimistic attitude, we embarked upon our first feis adventures. Our goal was (and remains) to decide whether or not the feis experience was worth it before checking the score boards. I still hoped that she would win at least a few prizes, though. (Maybe I do have more competitive instincts than I prefer to recognize???) My wise friend, Molly, once told me that learning how to lose gracefully helps to build character, and that Irish dance will offer many, many opportunities for character development.

A funny thing happened, though. Katie won far more frequently than I expected. I had prepared myself to support her through the life lesson of perseverant optimism amidst the reality of only an occasional win. (I’m still prepared for it, by the way – I realize that championship level competition is a whole different ballgame.) But that hasn’t really happened yet. Instead, she has enjoyed success upon success and has rapidly climbed to Prizewinner level. Which, again, begs the question, how much of her motivation in this activity is the sweet taste of success?

First, one must ask, what is the “sweet taste of success” anyway? Unlike the game of Candy Land, success in Irish Dance doesn’t need to wait until the end, at the top of the game board. Our family has made lifelong friends in our Irish dance experiences, visited new places, confronted new challenges, and grown together because of it all. These are the reasons that I’m glad that my family is a part of the feis world. And we plan to stick around for as long as our fun lasts!

Yes, it’s about winning. But it’s not necessarily about winning medals and trophies. Just remember to keep playing until all of the players arrive at the big party.