A Holiday Tradition To Cherish

I’ve always dreamed of being a ballerina.  Afterall I grew up in Soviet Russia and like most respectable Soviet children, took both piano and ballet lessons. My father often tells the story of my days as a not so tiny ‘dancer’ and how he would be covered in sweat trying to synch me into my tutu.  Problem was that I liked Tziplyta Tabaka, a brined and spatchcocked chicken cooked in a cast iron skillet and topped with butter and garlic, as much as I liked [the idea of] being a ballerina.
That early love of food sealed my fate and a dancer, I was never to be.
That didn’t stop me from enjoying the ballet however and as a kid, my parents exposed me to fantastic performances from Baryshnikov at the Mann Music Center to the real Swan Lake at the Kennedy Center.
Now, as a parent, I feel that it’s my duty to raise a cultured child and impart my love of the ballet onto him.
So, when Jacob was 5, we started a tradition of attending Pennsylvania Ballet’s The Nutcracker at the Academy of Music.

Our mama-son tradition means the world to me and I hope that one day, he will think back, smile and tell his children how special our time spent together enjoying the ballet was to him.

Have a tradition?  I would love to hear it!
Don’t have one? One thing’s for certain, it’s never too late to start one!

#FeelingGrateful
Alya