Friday was the annual City Tree Preschool Dance. This being my second one of these, you would think that I would be a little more prepared. Alas, no, not prepared at all. Thankfully I was paying attention to Sammy these last few days, and noticed that this was important to him. So, when I found myself at work at 2:40, when the program started at 3, I was not happy. I rushed out the door leaving little bits of code flying in my wake.
I made it down to school in record time, I had about two minutes to sign Daniel out of his class, and make it downstairs to grab a seat before the little ones paraded out. Daniel and I hustled downstairs, weaved through lines of preschoolers in various states of dress (think backstage on Broadway before 'Cats') and burst into the bright, sunlight soaked courtyard, only to come to a skidding stop. Oh, the humanity. Literally. Humanity. Everywhere. I had forgotten that this was a well attended event. Parents, grandparents, second cousins. The courtyard was full.
A quick side note, I should have had a clue to the condition of the courtyard when I dealt with the parking issue, no school spots open, I was forced to shove every last dime in the car down the throat of the Meter Monster.
So, I am down to about 30 seconds before the program is scheduled to start, decisions are flashing through my brain.... Knock out grandma? No, we are technically in a church. Bribe someone for their spot? No money, times sure are tough. Wait, what's that over there? Some seats,
'Let's go, Daniel!'
Once we made it to the unoccupied spots I realize why they are unoccupied. You remember the 'bright, sunlight soaked' comment from earlier? Yes, these seemingly prime seats were in the brightest spot in the courtyard. I felt like an ant under a magnifying glass. The soft winter sun had caused me to forget about the consequences of the full follicular retreat that is happening on my considerable cranium. The sun and I are no longer good friends. Well, what could I do? Using the Program Guide as a sun shade (yes, Auntie Chrissie, you are right, it didn't quite cover the whole noggin!) Daniel and I settled in just in time to see the Two Year old Classes join together in a rousing performance of 'The Peppermint Twist'.
Thankfully, after the Twist, only a very cute 'Bunny Hop' separated us from the true talent of the day, 'Rockin Robin'. Sammy's class lined up in two rows, dressed in jeans and white t-shirts for the boys, with little 'robin' beaks on their heads. Sammy's sleeves were rolled up, showing off his rock climbing guns, and his teacher, Mrs. Denney, had gelled his hair into the latest (if you lived in the 50's) style. The class did a wonderful job, with some of the little girls really getting into their roles. Sammy's performance was very, hmmm, nuanced, for the first part of the song, but then his face lit up, and he leaped into action when a particular part of the song came on. His assignment was to dance with Amelia, his best friend in the class. Over he bounded to Amelia, they grabbed hands and bounced around with great enthusiasm. It was my favorite part of the day, and clearly Sammy's too.
Delicious root beer floats were provided after all the kids had finished, and the boys and I stopped off at McDonald's on the way home for a well deserved celebration dinner. But all I could think about for the rest of the day was how happy Sammy looked while dancing with Amelia, and what the consequences of that joy would be for me when he is a teenager. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
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