Cool Christmas performance

Each year I sit in the packed gymnasium for the elementary students' Christmas concert and I watch the change in attitude from grade to grade. Kindergartners and first graders are basically there to find and wave to their parents. Sixth graders put in the same amount of effort to appear as if they don't care who might be watching.

 

 

It's a gradual progression, but a tough one to adjust to none the less. For both parents and children.

 

I had to work late tonight, due to a public meeting. I told AJ I'd do my best to make it to his concert. As luck (and a supportive boss) would have it, I was able to leave work long enough to listen to the first part of the performance.

 

I made it to the school before the concert started, and so headed to AJ's classroom so that he'd know I was there. He was sitting at a table, showing his massive baseball card collection to friends. I came up behind him, put my arm around his shoulders and said hi. I went on to assure him I'd stick around long enough to hear him sing, but then had to go back to work, and so probably wouldn't be home before bedtime.

 

And then...

 

"Mom, you're embarrassing me."

 

I knew this day would come. And have been dreading it.

 

I patted him on the back, said sorry, and headed to the gym where Jeff was saving me a seat.

 

But as I said it's a gradual progression. There's still plenty of eager-to-please spirit within AJ. When the second graders took their place on the risers, we could see AJ scanning the crowd, back and forth. Jeff and I both waved, and AJ's face broke into a grin. He was glad to know we were there.

(I should mention, he'd also been excited earlier in the week to tell me one of his songs was a Charlie Brown Christmas. He knows my obsession with Peanuts.)

Later last night - I made it home before he fell asleep - I crawled into bed next to him and started rubbing his back. I apologized for embarrassing him in front of his friends.

"That's okay. It wasn't so bad," he told me.

When I asked him how he thought the concert went, he told me he got over his fear of heights. Somehow his class always ends up in the back row (he insists it's because they're the best behaved class) and apparently that's been a little nerve wracking for him at times. But not last night.

I guess he's growing up.