Mine is a lot more low-budget. My yearly December indulgence
is attending the middle school holiday concert.
Last night, just as with every year, someone I run into in
the audience is bound to look at the stage, look down at their program, and say
in a slightly puzzled tone, “So Tim is in the chorus this year…? Or Holly is
playing with the jazz band….?”
Their puzzlement is justified. Neither of my kids is in any
musical group associated with the school (or any musical group not associated
with the school, unless you count Holly hiphop-dancing on her bed while
blasting her iPod), and they can’t imagine why I’d bother to spend a whole evening
during the busiest time of year attending a school concert if neither of my
kids will be on stage.
But that’s just what makes it an indulgence: I’m under no
obligation whatsoever to be there. I go just because I so enjoy hearing
talented kids sing and play instruments, and I get such a kick out of seeing
them all so dressed up and engaged in the moment of performance. As they file
onto the stage, pick up their instruments, train their gaze on the conductor,
bow to the audience’s applause….it’s such a different view of the same kids
whom I normally see thundering in and out of the school cafeteria or swarming
the soccer field or jostling each other in line at the ice cream stand. This is
the side of them that foretells a different kind of future ahead: one in which
they know how to carry themselves with dignity, dress formally, follow someone
else’s lead in order to create magnificent results.
So I go to the yearly holiday concert because it’s such a
pleasure to witness this, but also because in some small way, I feel like it’s
an important exercise in conquering the tendency to rush through the holiday
season. Yes, there were many things I could have been doing with those same two
hours, many items that would be crossed off my To Do list today if I’d skipped
the concert. I might have made some progress with holiday baking. I might have
mopped the kitchen floor. I might have packaged the gifts that need to be
mailed to Colorado by this weekend. Or I might have finished writing the couple
of articles that are due today.
But it’s good sometimes to renounce your To Do list, especially
during the holiday season. There was no reason for me to spend two hours at the
concert, but I did anyway. I heard some good music, witnessed talent both great
and still developing, and made it a priority not to be bustling around in the
usual holiday season way. No, it’s not a pedicure or a fancy night out: just a
free evening of music in the school auditorium. But I’m really glad I was
there.
No comments:
Post a Comment