<p>The partner issue is occupying our thoughts right now. He has had the same partner since he started because they are the right height for each other and the longer couples work together the better they look. However, she is leaving for college this Fall and his coaches are scouring the area for another potential partner - no easy task due to his height and the paucity of teenage dancers in our area.
We have come to a compromise on financing his hobby. He contributes all his earnings from two summers of work as a biology lab assistant and we contribute the rest, with new restrictions on the number of lessons per week - no carte blanche anymore. (We were shocked by our bill a couple of months ago.) Components of his costumes make ideal birthday, etc., gifts; I never knew what to give 17-year-old boys anyway.</p>