Her Very First Concert

Just got back from taking our Princess to her very first concert. The Prince would have been along but we had dropped him off at soccer camp earlier in the day. We went to the DTE Energy Theater - which will forever be 'Pine Knob' to me - and had an absolute blast. We were to see Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith. Both are esteemed Christian singers with quite a resume as song writers and award winners as well. It is very interesting to attend a concert that begins with prayer....and is beleaguered with one power outage after another. I thought the event would be a bit heart wrenching and instead we got to see an awesome entertainer who tried his hardest to put on a show. His first song, the one he said resonated through his head and heart on May 21st when his family lost it's youngest member to a devastating accident - 'Blessed Be Your Name', was the only song he managed to finish before the theater blew a fuse. LOL He laughed a little, prayed a little, danced a little, read the Bible an little and generally kept trying again and again. (There were power outages in surrounding areas that caused the problem.) What a guy! Such courage. Such tenacity. Such a sense of humor!! He declared that 'electrical power may be iffy but the power of God never goes out.' And my favorite part was during his second attempt to sing. When the power quit again, his son Will, who was playing the drums, kept wailing away not realizing that his Dad had stopped singing and the other instruments had ceased playing. SCC rolled his eyes at the audience, turned to Will and signaled him to CUT. Very cute. The crowd was patient as lights flickered and they tried one thing after another. At one point we could hear a huge section of the lawn seat patrons singing their own songs. In the end, Michael W. Smith joined Steven Curtis Chapman on stage for a short sing along with the audience, a keyboard, an acoustic guitar and a single spotlight. It was a beautiful ending to what could have been a disappointing evening. I think they both underestimate their talent and their audience. I could have listened to another hour with just the two of them, the keyboard, the acoustic guitar and the audience. Lovely. So. Very. Lovely.

The Princess declared drummer Will and his guitar playing big brother, Caleb, to be 'hotties' (and I am still telling myself that she has NO idea what that means yet...please!), went to the bathroom 15 times (okay, so I am exaggerating...maybe), ate her way through a tub of popcorn and a package of candied almonds, drank her way through a bottle of water, a lemonade, a Pepsi and a blue raspberry Icee, and bought a glow in the dark necklace. She also delighted in catching the fireflies that were flitting about in the dark as we waited. On the way out of the parking lot she declared the concert to be 'lots of fun'. They are going to try to reschedule so we are supposed to hang on to our tickets.....but I wouldn't have missed this evening for the world. Do you hear that Steven Curtis Chapman and crew?? You totally ROCK!

Quadruple Whammy

Oh, I am SO not ready for this. He turned fourteen today and I was gently reminded that it's only eight more months until he is eligible to take driver's education. I was making chocolate chip pancakes at the time and trying to decide which plastic plate should be his - the Ronald McDonald soccer player or the Cat in the Hat mini-plate? Swallowed a huge lump in my throat and chose the Cat in the Hat. After breakfast and before the mad dash to the car for a ride to school, I proof read the rough draft of an English paper that was due today. He'd chosen the common theme of kids growing up too fast from the books 'Across Five Aprils' and 'Soldier's Heart.' He wrote, "Kids want to be adults because they get to do more things and then they forget about following their own dreams." Aww.

Baked a cake today. Chocolate with chocolate frosting and color flaming candles - per his request. Met them at my school and worked on homework in the library before a meeting I needed to attend. I was going over Science vocabulary with his sister when he nonchalantly handed me a large yellow envelope. High School registration forms. HIGH SCHOOL! It's looming just slightly over the horizon. I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked through the catalog as he went on excitedly about which electives he was thinking about taking....and watched him fill out the sports interest form with round, still childish script. Sigh.

We went out to dinner at a restaurant he'd chosen. His sister had an announcement and there was a scuffle of feet under the table. She glanced at him in consternation and then silently sat back in her seat. It took a few wiggles and jabs but we were finally told that he'd asked a girl to dance at the school Valentine celebration last week. The girl had told his sister about it yesterday. A very proud and giggly girl told her about in the hall between classes. She even knows her name.....which I told her to keep a secret. She is a sister after all and I know he'll tell me some day soon. Instant flashback. Black slacks, slate gray shirt AND....behold all wonders....a silver TIE! I would have been giggling too. He was one handsome dude that night.

Then it hit me. Fourteen? Driver's Ed? High School? Girls?

Quadruple whammy.

I am SO not ready for this. Sigh.

Mr. Kindergarten Husband

I am a Kindergarten Teacher. When I say that, most people look at me with new eyes. 'Aww. You must have fun every day,' they say. When I was engaged, my husband thought I had the best job in the whole world. All I did was 'play' all day. Heh. Then reality struck. He got out of bed one morning - shortly after our wedding almost 18 years ago - with a huge strip of laminating film stuck to his back as I had been cutting things out while watching television the night before. It was the beginning of the end. He had to deal with a life partner who fielded telephone calls from 'helicopter parents' who would ring at any given time of day or night. He saw school supplies and needed items slipped into our shopping cart on a regular basis. There were trips to the book outlet and a guilt analysis of receipts to tell him 'how much I saved'. There were trips to the pharmacy and the doctor for meds to cover the cold/flu/pink eye that was raging through the school and which I would inevitably catch. There were stacks of oatmeal boxes and shoe boxes and egg cartons and magazines that piled in the dining room waiting to be used for 'something good'. There were highly stressed 'report card marking weekends' that surely became his version of hell on earth. There were the impromptu conversations and 'conferences' that arose whenever we ran into a parent from school at the store or the library or the movies. There were the conscriptions to play Santa/clowns/ Mr. Dressup during school events and Kindergarten special occasions. There were constant rereadings of favorite books as I needed practice to get the reading just right. Heh. I think he had Chicka Chicka Boom Boom memorized before I did! There were trips to the hardware, trips to the lumber yard, trips to the Teacher Store.....never complaining....always repeated until a project was 'just right'. He would cut boat shapes for the transportation project, build a classroom loft, drill holes in popsicle sticks for the Christmas projects, hunt for the perfect candy bars for our end of the year awards ceremony (Snickers for the one with the best laugh, Bit-O-Honeys for the sweet one, etc.), carry things in and out of school, etc. etc. etc. etc.

Sometimes I take it all for granted. Too much. I appreciate it all. But I never appreciated it more than I did last night.

I had one of those school day moments that brought a lump to my throat.... something that hasn't happened often of late. Our bus walkers were late. Four Kindy Kiddos were still waiting to be taken to the very confusing bus dismissal area. I asked if they thought they could make it on their own. It was time for them to try it. They would be doing it alone as first graders next year. Big eyes in hooded jackets with backpacks as big as their five year old bodies, they nodded their heads. Hold hands and stick together, I told them and walked them to the back exit door. I stood and looked out in to the sunny spring afternoon and watched as Jamie and Michael and Melinda and Evan* bounced up the sidewalk in two twosomes, holding hands and chatting amiably as they headed for their buses. Little birds out of the nest and they didn't even know it. The lump started then. How sweet to be privy to the beginnings of independence all wrapped up in security and innocence. Who to tell about this picture? Teachers see this kind of thing every single day. Sometimes it's gets old when it comes from someone else.

The picture stayed in my head and the lump in my throat as I cleaned up my room and put things out for the next school day. It stayed as I drove home and listened to the middle school and fifth grade doings from my own children. It stayed as I made spaghetti for dinner. It stayed until we were in the car and headed for another soccer practice.

In the quiet of the car - a new novelty with two new handheld computer games in tow - we talked about our day. I described the picture of my four little birds and their venture out into the big old 'world' on their own and the lump in my throat threatened to spill over. I looked over at my Mr. Kindergarten Husband and he was smiling the smile of one who absolutely understood. Yes....I do take it for granted sometimes.

*Names were changed to respect the privacy of my students.