sara's xmas concert

Jeff and I took this morning off to attend Sara's school Christmas concert. As each class did their presentation, crowds of parents jostled each other near the front of the stage, each wielding a camcorder or camera. It's a wonder the children weren't blinded by all the flashbulbs going off throughout. :-)

Annie wasn't happy having to wait through all the younger classes to get to Sara's kindergarten class. "Where's SARA?" she'd ask in a loud voice each time the curtain rose to reveal a new set of small faces.

Finally it was Sara's class on stage (and yes, I was one of the jostling relatives with cameras). And as I watched my five-year-old niece wave her arms and recite her lines (quite well, I must say with total objectivity ;-)), I couldn't help but feel a pang of pride and love and fear all at the same time. She looked so small, up there on stage. I thought of Christmases past and all the Christmases she would experience in the future, and desperately wished I could protect her from any hardship, any heartbreak that lay in her path.

But of course I can't, and shouldn't. It's a good thing I never had kids...I'm sure I'd be one of those over-protective and smothering mothers who eventually drive their offspring into many years of psychotherapy.