March 2023 SOLC–Day 8
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I’d been a little grumpy about it all day yesterday. I’d arrived at school shortly after 6:30 am and sat for a minute in my car in the empty parking lot. Well, you won’t be leaving for about another twelve hours. Sigh.

You see, last night was the Second Grade Concert. At our school, concerts are held in the evening. Students meet in the classroom about fifteen minutes before the concert starts, and teachers are in charge. If you have any sort of commute, it doesn’t really make sense to go home beforehand. Which makes for a really, really long day. And some grumpiness. Regardless of how cute you know the kids are going to be.

So, at 5:30 pm, about 15 minutes before kids were due to arrive, I finally ran out of steam and stopped working. I packed up my bags, turned off the lights, and sat in the dark room. I was pooped, and, to be honest, perhaps a wee bit resentful. I’d been working for almost 12 hours (though I still felt behind) and had spent a big chunk of my weekend finishing up report cards. I knew I’d be staying late after school the next two days as well for meetings. Couldn’t parent volunteers help out with this?

And then the kids arrived.

They jumped, skipped, hopped and even spun into the classroom. The last few moments of quiet evaporated as the room was filled with happy, nervous chatter.

The concert was a St. Patrick’s Day theme, so green was heavily favored. There were fancy dresses (“These are real gemstones, Mrs. Hogan!”), blazers, t-shirts with leprechauns, and much-admired button-down shirts. A couple of leather jackets were evident and some sparkly boots as well. Hair had been slicked and curled and eye lids and lips colored.

“I’m so nervous and happy!” S bubbled, bouncing into the room. “I don’t know what to say! I don’t know what to do!” He boomeranged off the cubbies toward the tables.

I heard C whisper to a classmate, “I’m so scared!”

“Me, too!” she whispered back.

They held hands and jumped up and down together.

Another student was holding court, telling the story of his preparations. “I was like, ‘Mom! Don’t touch my hair!'” Then he patted his carefully arranged hair. “I did this all myself,” he said.

M decided to do an impromptu Irish jig across the carpet. I turned around to remind B and K to walk in the classroom, and saw S. with the large plastic lunch bin upturned over his head, spinning it around and around. The volume was soaring.

Oh, my.

Reinforcements were clearly in order. I pulled out some coloring pages I had at the ready, and quickly distributed them. Within moments, the kids were coloring away, and the volume had dropped to a more reasonable level. Ahhhh, the magic of coloring. It was just enough to take the edge off.

After about five minutes we cleaned up and lined up, preparing to walk down the hallway to the gym, where the bleachers and a large audience awaited. The excitement was still palpable, as were the nerves. We took a few deep breaths together, and then walked out the door. They were ready to perform.

And they totally nailed it. Cute as could be and so focused and happy. Swinging to the music. Grinning to beat the band. Waving to parents. Singing their little hearts out.

I may have started the day feeling grumpy, but I ended it with a big smile on my face.