The Ballerina; Or, the Story of Julie

When Julie was in 7th grade, she came home one day to tell us of a fierce battle with one of her classmates, Adam. Right in the midst of the battle, Mrs. Berg, the music teacher, had spoken pretty directly to them both. She said, "You both are going to be cast opposite each other in lots of plays in the next 6 years, so you better get used to it, and quit fighting. " She was right.

For five years, Adam and Julie had major parts in lots of plays at school. Julie, who juat a few years prior had been so excited with ballet, now had her sights set on being a STAR. Not just in Wisconsin, but excuse me, in New York. Big Time.

In her senior year, she was cast in a play with lots of singing. No problem. The week of the play, however, she came down with a severe case of bronchitis.. Her doctor felt that due to the overuse of pharmacy in cases such as this that might in the long-term cause Julie to not respond to antibiotics, just herbal medicine would have to do and the virus should just run its course. In short---Julie lost her voice. The actors scrambled to adjust. A fellow cast member sang many of Julie's songs. She did just wonderfully.

At the award ceremony, this fellow actress took the BEST ACTRESS award. Julie was crushed. Dashed were the dreams of fame and stardom. As parents, we tried to tell her of some silver lining in it all. Julie was not buying any silver lining.

Julie did go into Psychology and is happily employed in California. The BEST ACTRESS went to school in Iowa and majored in Theatre.

Sometimes the Lord works in strange ways.