...made the whole night worth it...
-Roenfeldt
...I was laughing so hard I couldn't see through my tears...
-Hatch
...we didn't know what would happen next and then all of a sudden, whoosh...
-Anonymous
Years ago my sister Mandy was a track star. I remember going to her districts track meet and seeing her win every race she was entered in. All the sprints were her specialty.
A few weeks ago we were at a family party on Alki Beach and the kids were all running around like kids do. Mandy turned to me and said, "Wow, that Emma really can run. She has really good form.” Little did she know that Emma heard every word and, as kids easily are, became convinced that she must be the fastest kid in the whole world. During our weekly family home evenings the kids each share a talent or do a show-and-tell. Running became Emma’s regular talent of choice. So it wasn’t much of a surprise when, at the next family home evening, as we discussed the Mill Pond Ward talent show, that Emma proudly declared that she was going to run for the whole ward. I remember looking at Camille as we both shrugged and thought, oh well, it’s her talent.
As the weeks progressed toward the night of amazing talents, Emma began perfecting her technique and making some important decisions. When asked what shoes she wanted to wear she responded with “I’m not going to wear shoes so that I don’t slip. And I’m going to wear my yellow dress.” Since mom wasn’t aware of any yellow dresses she asked Emma to go and get it. She brought down one of her dress-up dresses with a black and white stripped top and yellow, very short, skirt. Emma explained that it was short enough so that, “everyone can see my legs and how fast they are moving.”
I helped her choose the correct background music. I would play a song and Emma would take off running and then come back and tell me if it was a good running song. She like anything with a beat but when I explained that Chariots of Fire (thanks Tara) was from a movie about running (movies are Emma’s second most favorite thing to do) it became the clear favorite.
On the night of the show I was still a little skeptical on whether or not she would really go through with it. The show was on the stage, in front of lots of people. But we practiced before hand and had the music cued on the Ipod. We were ready.
When it was her turn we moved to the stage as the MC (Emma’s Aunt Bri) explained the situation thus…
“And next we have Emma McInelly. A couple of months ago Emma’s aunt Mandy told her that she could run really well. Tonight Emma is going to show us just how fast she is. She’s chosen a special dress to run in so that you all can see how fast her legs move. So don’t blink or you might miss Emma McInelly…” applause
And the curtain opens.
Go time.
Emma and I are on the stage with the plan for her to run from one side to the other and back, 3 times. We were far enough back from the edge of the curtain that by the time she came into view she was going full speed. And it was a new kind of full speed. I’ve never, in my life, seen her run like that. From the audience there was a bit of apprehension as to how she was going to show her talent. The curtain opened, the right kind of music was playing, what was next? Then all of a sudden, and only for a split second, a cute curly red head girl shot across the stage wearing a funny yellow dress and smiling like it was the best moment of her life (which it probably was). And then, just as suddenly as she left, she reappeared like a bullet going the other direction. The gym filled with laughter and hoots and hollers. Each time she ran, the cheering got louder. The look on her face was one of pure exhilaration mixed with adrenaline and sprinkled with a little fear. After three back and forths at full throttle I whispered, “great job Emma, now go do a bow.” She took a few steps beyond the curtain, turned toward the audience and bowed slightly. And then ran off the stage and into my arms.
She did it!
The rest of the night we heard comments about how funny her talent was. I must admit that I was a little surprised by all the attention she got. I think knowing the background of her decisions leading up to this moment and then seeing her and the look of pure joy on her face was something special to see. I’m just glad that we have a ward that supports each other and has such great activities like these for our kids to be a part of. There were many wonderful talents displayed that night and they were all either really funny or really good. But none was quite as unique as the red haired, yellow dressed sprinter.
When asked later if she was frightened at all by all the people watching she replied, “no, I just thought of all the people and thought of them with no clothes on, except of our family and Naty’s family, but everyone else had not clothes on.”
13 comments:
What a precious story!! She is unique in all the world; what a character. Better sign up a coach. Mandy?
Seriously my favorite talent of the night! I knew it would be great but it definitely exceeded my expectations.
I'm so glad I was one of the clothed audience members. :)
What a great activity! good support from the Ward makes all the difference. I would love to have been there. We really miss Auburn.
Hahahaha, I just died laughing. Whew, what a crack up! I wish there was video posted too! She does look really fast in the photos, her little feet are a blur! Great job Emma!
What a great story. I loved her the outfit that she chose to run in. I wish I could have seen it. Hope you are all doing well.
It really was something, it was the most nervous I felt all night, will she do it...and then there she was! It was obviously my favorite act of the night (although Linsey was pretty awesome too!), but I didn't know it would be EVERYONE else's too! And I, like Tara, am glad I was dressed!
...wait, she does mean all of her family right...
awesome! i love it.
Ha Ha.. I clarified for you Bri, Emma said you and Olivia were clothed, just people that she didn't know were naked or in their underwear... Yikes!
Oh, what a story. I was laughing so hard, I was afraid I was going to wake up my kids. as I read it even though I heard it from Jared just last night, it was still so funny. The outfit was hilarious!
That is the funniest story. I would have loved to see her run across the stage. She is adorable!!
She is adorable! I love the story - thanks for sharing - a precious memory for years to come!
Well humor definitely runs in your family too. I hope you print this one off and put it in Emma's scrapbook because it is so wonderful on so many levels. First precious Emma! Then her loving dad who narrates a story like no one else! Thanks for the smile!
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