Spring Concert by Rachel Nemhauser

My socks are starting to dry out, the mud puddle in my driveway is shrinking, and my husband has started to sneeze.  It is finally Springtime in Washington, and that can only mean one thing: School Concert Season!

I know you know what I'm talking about.  The time of year when all the 3rd and 4th graders come together one evening and perform a variety of musical numbers for all their parents and loved ones. It is a fun evening of performance, friendship, community, and beautiful music.

Attending the yearly school concert can be hard for me for a few reasons, but mostly because I never know what Nate will do while on a stage in front of 200 people.  Will he make a scene? Will he pull his pants down?  Will he announce from the stage that he's ready to go home? Will he walk right off the stage and disappear into the crowd? Any of those things are possible, along with an infinite number of possibilities I've yet to envision. I've lived in fear of the moment I might have to run from the audience onto the risers to stop him from doing something silly or inappropriate. Please don't make me have to wrestle my son, pants-less and screeching, off the elementary school stage!

Thanks to an amazingly supportive and forward thinking school team (Spiritridge, I'm talking to you), this year Nate had a para-educator assigned to stay with him during the performance.  This meant that for the first time I was able to sit in the audience and enjoy the show, knowing he would be supervised and attended to the entire time.

As you can see, Nate had a whole lot of fun.  He loved being in front of the audience, and he loved standing shoulder to shoulder with his classmates. He loved getting some laughs and he loved wearing his dressy shirt.  Clearly, the kid is thrilled. I watched his performance while trying not to laugh out loud, or to notice the parents in the audience that were looking at me. I was kind of thrilled too.

As those who know and love him have pointed out, Nate's performance exudes joy.  He's not making trouble, he's only being minimally disruptive, and he's happy as can be. Nate's being Nate, even when in front of 200 people, and I am so incredibly proud.

Share your Spring Concert experiences!