My earliest performance memory is from the age of four.

I was in a tap class, and we were set to dance a routine to a Shirley Temple tune, “Old Straw Hat”.

I remember the song, and I remember my mom being there.

When I was in second grade, I was in the school play. I was “her in her cap” for a dramatic presentation of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”. I remember Santa coming down the chimney – and knocking the whole chimney over, causing me to rock so hard with laughter in my rocking chair that I almost flipped backwards. I remember my parents, laughing with me, in the audience.

As a senior in high school, I entered a state short study contest. All the winners were on stage,and the audience was given programs with the list of who had won each category. I searched my parents for any sign of triumph, but they remained poker faced. I ended up the winner of first prize, and they celebrated with me.

Plays. Recitals. Speech contests. Awards.

My parents were there. I was just like every other kid, scanning the audience for my parents.

They were present.