Sunday, January 11, 2009

The Show Must Go On!

The Sacred Heart School Christmas show is a big deal. A very big deal. Particularly for the parents of the Pre-K kids. Every spring at the Sacred Heart auction, one of the live auction lots is actually the front-row pews for the Pre-K Christmas show. And let me tell you, the bidding wars can be vicious! We had decided last May not to bid on the front-row seats, and instead take our chances...after all, he hadn't even started school yet, who knew if he would even get up there to sing? This is the kid who has been know to throw things in a fit of rage if he's suddenly put on the spot and realizes too many people are paying attention to what he's doing. (For instance, we were at the baptism of a friend's baby. Seamus wanted to say grace before dinner, and as he was saying it, the guests in the room turned to watch him...BAM! Breadbasket, on the floor, Seamus collapsed in a fit of tears.) So a natural performer, he is not.

So the rehearsals began in the fall for the Christmas show, and we heard the songs day in and day out. While getting dressed in the morning, at the dinner table, and in the bathtub...it was, "O candy cane, o candy caaaaaane...." He certainly knew the tunes inside and out, but I was still starting to get a little nervous about possibly seeing the tears flow up on stage. December finally rolls around, and the Christmas show is postponed not once, but twice due to the ice storm and another major snowfall. Now I'm really nervous, because how could he possibly get back into the swing of his performance after being on break for two weeks? But I keep telling myself not to worry, if he freaks out, he clearly wouldn't be the first kid to freak out and we would get through it.

Today, finally, the morning of the show! Devon and I talk about it excitedly through breakfast. "No, I not sing in the show!" Seamus tell us. About a hundred times.
Still, we get all dressed up and shuffle over to the church, with him continuing to tell us that he is NOT singing in the show. He's pretty adamant.
"How about Gigi go sing in the show?" he asks. While she clearly would have JUMPED at the chance to sing, we tell him that she'll go to school in a couple years and then it will be her turn.

My mother brings him to his classroom to get ready, and I sit anxiously in our second-row pew (still managed to score great seats, since my mother was there two hours prior to snag them!) I had the camera at the ready, even though I still didn't have my hopes up.

Literally seconds before the start of the show, the power goes out. Is this show cursed?? I do not have a good feeling about this! The emergency lights kick on and they manage to get some power to the front of the church, so the show will go on! Seamus' class is third in line to sing, and I seriously had butterflies in my stomach as I watched them file out onto the stage.
What is that?? They gave him a...a GIANT CANDY CANE to hold?? Oh Lord help us, he's got a weapon!

He still hadn't really noticed us yet, and I had pretty much warned the whole family to not make eye contact with him, for fear of setting off the spotlight rage. I was hiding behind the camera. (BTW, the pics are pretty dark and grainy because the power was out, and my flash was kinda weak.)

The music started, and this is what ensued:



Whoa! Not only did he sing, but he DANCED! The video is shaky because I could not stop laughing. Who would have thought?? Maybe Broadway is in his future after all!

15 comments:

The Johnson Family 5 said...

That is so fun! What are the odds that all those bad things happened prior to showtime...but he didn't disapoint!!

Jillsblog said...

He is great...what a ham!!! Love it!

Jennifer said...

Oh my gosh! This is hilarious! I know I would just love your children in person because I'm crazy about them on your blog! A singing, dancing, candy cane swinger and a baby ironer! Gotta love those children!

Unknown said...

He looked adorable up there swinging the candy cane around. Seamus was cracking me up too!

Alex said...

Awww...how cute! I like his moves!! LOL

Danielle said...

That is awesome! I'm glad after all that time he did so great!

Jaime said...

That was great and so much fun to watch! I love Seamus's little dance he does, too cute!

Jen Weisser said...

YAY Seamus!!! You did it buddy! Great job! Very proud of you! Especially because the candy cane was not used as a weapon!
You know when it's Grace's turn she's totally gonna steal the show too!!! They are both such hams!

Destini said...

Oh, Em, what a great video! I would have completely freaked out when he showed up on stage with the "weapon"! Seamus is sooooo darn cute, and what a little ham! He did such a great job!

mejane said...

He did an awesome job! I guess we should never under estimate our kids. Way cute!

Caden and Mommy said...

Emily!
You have a star on your hands... take him to Hollywood! He is so darn cute!!!
Trisha

Kim said...

I can hear you laughing in the background. That was so freakin' cute! I loved it! I love how immediately upon the conclusion the giant candy cane (weapon) was confiscated! So adorable. Seamus is the cutest in his class!

Melissa Swartley said...

Woo Hoo! Alright Seamus! I thought for sure I would be seeing that giant candy cane go into launch after reading about his displeasure for an audience! Maybe he has changed his ways? What a talent he is! Loved the dance!

Anonymous said...

That was so cute! I loved his dance moves and also how the candy cane was immediately removed. Too funny!

Greene Family said...

Oh, that was so fantastic!! Way to go, Seamus - love the dancing and giant candy cane too! He's such a ham!