Grade school concerts are one of the best concerts around. It's a wonderful place to enjoy the little things in life that make it worth living. If you had attended you might have noticed a little girl wearing a white airy summer dress with matching white high-top sneakers. She was the first to arrive and was at least 15 minutes early. I asked some of the kids if they liked their spring concert there were a chorus of "NO" and then a chorus of Yes. I laugh out loud. One said she would rather be riding a horse. They like it, but it's getting out in front of people they don't necessarily like. As one little girl waited she gets out "farty" putty to play with, but it's to warm and just melts all over her fingers. She was trying to rub it off, but didn't want to rub it on her nice concert clothes. One little girl was wearing a tutu and cowboy boots. There were little boys in jeans and cowboy boots, boys in tennis shoes and tee shirts, and boys in button down shirts with black shiny shoes. One boy came with his hair slicked back with hair-gel.
In the auditorium mommies, and daddies, and siblings arrived. Senior high students where there to watch their little brothers. They looked "really" excited to be there. Old neighbors who hadn't seen each other for a while found themselves spending time catching up on each other's families. Brand new babies arrived all dressed in pink. Grampa and gramma who had travelled miles to hear, but mostly to watch their grandchild preform. A little boy is showing his mother where she should sit so he can see her and then he points to where he will be on stage. Just to make sure she doesn't miss him. Little kids, running, giggling, and laughing. Is it nerves or is it excitement? Daddy's showing up at the last-minute wearing work clothes. Mommies sharing babies, passing them around.
I watched the concert from the front row for the first time and watched the musician's serious, intensity, concentrating on the notes.
Musically instruments squeaking, but there's a song there. Cowboy boats tapping to the time, and tennis shoes swaying. And then the concert moved from band to the littlest kindergartener and then on up the grades. Like always there's the moment when they see their parents in the crowd and you watch as their worried expressions move to joy and they see and then wave to their parents. As always there is the little girl that lifts her dress to her waist. This time revealing, she had cut off jeans on underneath. Then there are the ones that don't sing or dance, just barely move their lips and arms to the student who is over the top sing loudly and dancing excitedly. Every time someone is yawning.
While moving the band chairs, getting ready for the choir, a boy offered to help one of the girls. She grabbed the chairs and said, "No! I'm strong!"
There was singing and dancing and making music. The kind that makes you smile deep inside. The kind that helps you forget that life can be hard. I always hear a song I never heard before that stirs me and this year it was "Something told the wild geese it was time to go, though the fields lay golden something whispered snow (whispered snow). And then they sang, "Hey, hey, hey, it's a wonderful day." And it was!
