Gary and I took Chloe to see "The Wizard of Oz" stage production this afternoon with Mr Fern as the lion and Saraya as a sweet little munchkin. It was fantastic and it has caused me to reflect on the opportunities I had as I was growing up:
* private tuition for ballet (3 years),
piano (3 years),
violin (8 years),
horse-riding (4 years),
Speech and Drama (11 years-AMEB and Trinity College),
swimming (learn to swim classes then later 3 years of intense training),
tennis (1 year, I think)

* Girls' Brigade (1 year),
Guides (4 years),
horse-riding week-long camps at Mt Tambourine,

* extra-curricular school activities: school orchestras (8 years),
school choir (4 years),
Concert Choir (combined with Boys' Grammar) (3 years),
ISCF (4 years- and including Surf Camp, Study Camp, Discipleship Camp and Schoolies),
Interact (1 year),
German dancing, Japanese dancing (2 1/2 years),
netball (which I didn't like at either of 2 schools,
softball, which I did),
ran (and lost:)) the 1500m 3 years running because my house was awarded 1 point for participation- I just had to survive and just qualify for a jogging pace- go England house!!!

* director / coordinator/ actress for regularly-performing church drama group,
church choir (alto),
youth orchestra and youth choir,
youth group,
co-leader of Yr 4-7 weekly group,
organising camps and excursions, interactive lessons, craft, music for them,
organising outreach concerts and events,
Youth Encounters, prayer retreats, and other youth group camps, Leadership Team for Youth Group

* Christian clowning course, and over 50 performances over 5 years in 5 towns,
amateur theatre prodution of the English comedy "As Long As They're Happy", playing a 16-year old head-over-heels with a swooner,
dressing as Sandy in "Grease" and miming and dancing to "You're The One That I Want - Oo, Oo, Ooo" :),
and as Marilyn Monroe doing "Diamonds Are A Girls' Best Friend" , (and yes, I have proof of these daring, out-of-character dramatic pursuits:)

* School play in a competition at the Arts Theatre as one of the leads in a play about the suffragettes -- I loooovvveedd this, but didn't feel alternative enough to take drama in Senior - something I regret - instead doing English, German, French, Maths in Society, and Ancient and Modern History... something else I now very much regret is not following through on sitting for my letters in Speech and Drama- I had prepared for 2 years for Year 7 and pulled out under stress in my final year of Uni, during my final prac and the graduation of the Clowning course - everything was culminating in the same end-of-year time frame, and I figured I'd be able to pick it up again later - not realising as I do now that, should one move to Maryborough, it would not be an option - I never dreamt I'd leave Brisbane - how things change!

I'm grateful to my parents for this endless list of opportunties- the cost, the driving, the $10,000p.a. for my highschool education at Brisbane Girls' Grammar, the patience of listening to practices and lines and ideas; amidst all this, I also wonder about my own children and the opportunities we'll be able to expose them to; how will they find their niche if we can't manage to find the affordable, available opportunities?
Still, they're young, and I'm sure God has great things for them...The first song they listen to as they go to sleep is "God will make a way where there seems to be no way-He works in ways we cannot see - He will make a way for me - He will make a way".. Reminder to self: have faith; we're in the palm of His Hand:)