Show's Done

I finally sat in the audience, at last night's closing performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. It was very good. A cornier show you will never see, but it was done with tongue in cheek and hearts on fire. I felt so proud of our daughter and everyone who worked to make this show happen, it was just good.

After the show there was a party at a restaurant. Everyone came. I sat a the "Moms" table while our daughter sat with the rest of the choir kids. I'm glad the children were included in the celebration. They really needed a chance to unwind together after all that work, and a place to diffuse their energy and soften the inevitable deflation of it all being over.

On the way home in the car, my daughter and her friend both felt sad. I told them not to cry but her friend said, "Too late. The tears are already out." So I turned on the stereo and blasted Peggy Lee singing Jingle Bells with a choir of kids in the background singing "I like the sleigh ride!" over, and over, and over, all the way home. We all sang at the top of our voices and laughed and stayed hyper enough to chase the sadness away, at least for the ride home.

I'm grateful for this opportunity for our daughter to learn and grow - not just the show, but the emotional experience too. It's intense, but she's intense, so she can handle it. I'm lucky to be still so close to her to share this, and remember how it was when I had the same experiences. Just for the record, I did cry too, in the last few minutes of the show when I knew it was over. But there will be other show, and other fun, sad, loud, silly rides home. I'll sit at the Mom table any time.

Question: How did I get so lucky?

mompoet - heart on fire