St. Helena, Patron Saint of Cat Herding

Several weeks ago, I signed up my daughter for a four-week "The Nutcracker for and by Young Children" dance class. I'd heard about the dance teacher, Miss Helena, via word of mouth. I'd also heard that Miss Helena can do incredible and wonderful things with a group of three- and four-year-olds in such a short time.

Today, I witnessed the magic of Miss Helena. After only three hours of preparation over the past four weeks, my daughter's class performed their version of The Nutcracker. Miss Helena managed to guide this group of nine little Claras and one five-year-old Herr Drosselmeyer through the march of the soldiers, the Chinese tea dance, the Spanish coffee dance, the the peppermint candy dance, the Arabian dance, and the waltz of the flowers -- complete with props, costume changes and narration -- in a mere 30 minutes. As I was watching her do this with such incredible patience and apparent joy, I thought, "If anyone could herd cats, I'd put my money on this woman." She definitely gets my nomination for sainthood.