A Joyful Practice

A Mother’s Dream & EXCERPT: “The Ties That Bind” May 10, 2026

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms!

Peace and many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone Counting the Omer and/or observing/celebrating the Fifth Sunday of Pascha: The Samaritan Woman.

“After their first performances in Los Angeles in February 1909, the Gerrymen intervened, and their booking was canceled. Ann thereupon initiated a campaign of her own, appealing to newspaper critics to help publicize their plight and finally obtaining a hearing before the local chapter of the [New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children¹]. She pleaded convincingly the children’s dedication and well-being and the excellent care and tuition they were receiving, and the society relented.”

— quoted from “Opening the Bill” in The Astaires: Fred & Adele by Kathleen Riley

If she were alive today, Johanna “Ann” Geilus Astaire would be considered a MoManger. She was the mother of Adele Astaire Douglass and Fred Astaire (who was born Frederick Austerlitz today in 1899. She was the daughter of Lutheran German immigrants; married to a Jewish-Austrian immigrant (whose family converted to Catholicism); and she was (initially) raising her children in Omaha, Nebraska. Like their parents, Ann and her husband (Friedrich “Fritz” Emanuel Austerlitz) wanted the best for their children. They had big dreams — and Ann thought they could achieve those dreams through the talents of their children.

Adele immediately took to singing and dancing. Young Fred learned to sing and learned to play piano, accordion, and clarinet; but, wasn’t much for dancing until he started imitated his sister. Both studied elocution and, by the time they were nine and six (respectively), Adele and Fred were living in New York and preparing to be one of the most sought after brother-sister vaudeville acts in the United States.

“Fred Astaire explained it to the young Jack Lemmon: ‘You’re now at a level where you can afford only one mistake. The higher up you go, the more mistakes you are allowed. Right at the top, if you make enough of them, it’s considered to be your style.’ In other words, once you were successfully typed, you were safe.”

— quoted from “Part I: Stars and the Factory System ― Product and Type” in The Star Machine by Jeanine Basinge

Eventually, the siblings moved from vaudeville to Broadway musicals to London’s West End. When Adele got married and retired (in 1932), Fred moved from stage to screen. His 76-year career included over 10 Broadway and West End musicals, 31 film musicals, four Emmy Award-winning musical specials for television, and a plethora of (non-musical) television and movie appearances. In addition to receiving an Honorary Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award, Fred Astaire changed the way musicals were filmed.

While he appeared in several acting roles in 1979 and the early 1980s, Fred Astaire’s final filmed dance was as Chameleon, in the 1979 Battlestar Galactica episode “The Man with Nine Lives”. The role and the episode were specifically written for him (by by Donald P. Bellisario) after Mr. Astaire asked if could make a guest appearance on the show that his grandchildren loved.

In other words, he wanted something special for his (grand)children — just like his mom wanted something special for him.

FTWMI: Variations of the following have previously been posted.

It all comes back to the moms. No matter how you came to be a mom (or what your kiddos call you), you have been in a position to teach people to dream, dance, and reach for the stars. In fact, in most cases, you are someone’s first teacher, cheerleader, mentor, coach, confidant, spiritual/religious/moral guide, and friend.

You may also be the short order cook, personal assistant, driver, and the business manager who handles entertainment, the schedule, and the finances: the MoManger. You do all of this and more — maybe even including a second job as a spouse and a third job as something other than a mom. (Of course, you may also list those roles in a completely different order.)

While today, Mother’s Day in the United States, doesn’t explicitly state that it is a day when we celebrate all of your roles… it absolutely is exactly that day!

“I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother’s day commemorating her for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life. She is entitled to it.”

— quoted from the end of 1876 Sunday school lesson by Ann Reeves Jarvis (words that inspired her daughter Anna Maria Jarvis)

Click on the excerpt title below for more about Mother’s Day.

The Ties That Bind (a short “renewed” post for Mother’s Day)

While I don’t know if I will ever go back to teaching on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, I will continue to offer the 2020 recordings and a philosophy-based alternative recording for those who are on my Sunday mailing list (or, you can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra    (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.)

The Mother’s Day playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Mother’s Day 2020”]

The playlist for May 10^th is available on on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05102022 Fred’s Dance”]

NOTE: The May 10^th playlists have slightly different before/after music and the YouTube playlist includes a video and a portion of an interview.

If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.

White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.

If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).

In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).

Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.

Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.

You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!

September 25 — 27, 2026

NOTE:¹ The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was a child protective agency founded in 1874 (and incorporated in 1875). Sometimes referred to as the “Gerry Society” (after co-founder Elbridge Thomas Gerry), its agents were nicknamed “Gerrymen”.

### Moms Have Fascinating Rhythm! ###