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!