Grandparents' Day

I'm still learning the ropes at our kids' new school. Apparently, grandparents' week at the school is a really big deal. Large banners are hung to welcome grandparents.  A nice spread of brunch items are available each day in the auditorium.  Classes write poetry, learn songs, and give presentations at various assemblies throughout the week.  Grandparents have the option of taking students off campus for lunch.  Unfortunately, our kids' assemblies were on different days, and Nana and Pops had commitments back home, so they could not come.  Besides, they would be driving up there three different days the following week for a musical, recital, and high tea event.

I eventually learned a little too late that parents should fill in for grandparents who cannot attend. Oops!  I missed my son's performance, but some other parents shared these photos with me.

 

I did find out I should be there in time to attend my daughter's assembly the following day.  When she saw me, her face lit up like a full moon.

Note to self:  Remember how much it means to your children to have you there at each and every event, even though it will seem like you have already attended thousands.

They sang two classical pieces followed by a fun folk style tune about grandma's bed.

Before the assembly, she asked me to video record her singing one of the songs and then send it to her grandparents.  Later she instructed me to post it on Facebook so that anyone could see it.  Her love for the stage and total lack of self-consciousness amazes me.  Well..maybe "self-consciousness" is not the right word for she seems to enjoy being the center of attention.

She specifically wanted me to emphasize that she is filling in for the guys' parts when she sings about the "gal down the road."  She has always been a tad boy crazy, rest assured.

Our son also wanted to submit a video for the grandparents to view, but he's shy in front of the video camera like his mam, and could not get past the first four words, which would be four more words than I could have sung.

When I consider how much my daughter loves to be on stage and in the center of attention, I am conflicted.  We strive to make sure our kids know the world does not revolve around them.  While they mean the world to us, they are not the center of this family.  I want them to identify as an integral part of the body of Christ with each part doing his or her special work without any part being greater than the other.

¹⁴ For the body is not one member, but many. ¹⁵ If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. ¹⁹ If they were all one member, where would the body be? ²⁰ But now there are many members, but one body. ²¹ And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; ²³ and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, ²⁴ whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, ²⁵ so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶ And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it^{.  27} Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.  (I Corinthians 12)

I do not want her to think too highly of herself, yet I rejoice that she has not let the opinions of others or the pressures of this world cloud her self perception.  May she see herself as God sees her.  She is His precious daughter, wholly loved and priceless as He demonstrated on the cross.  She should not let any insecurity hold her back, for she is secure in Christ.  So when she sings with great volume and exaggerated expression at school concerts or on private videos or for any audience she can find, I rejoice that she is unafraid and comfortable in her own skin.

I remember being asked by my supervisor to model in a fashion show when I worked retail at Belk's at age 16.  The thought mortified me.  I felt trapped because I could not refuse my boss this small request, yet the thought of walking clumsily on stage with eyes staring at me, surely picking apart everything about me, was too much to bear.  I ran on and off that stage as fast as I could.  To further exasperate my humiliation, they could not find any teen clothing to fit me, so I modeled children's clothing.  I can still wear children's and junior's clothing even as I am now in my 40s, and it's still somewhat embarrassing, though at least less expensive than women's sizes, to have the frame of a preteen.

This weekend, many of my friends shared photos of their high school aged children all dressed up for the prom.  Not having children that age, I pulled out an old photo of me as I was getting ready for my senior prom.

It's hard to imagine that day when our first born will be old enough to attend a prom. What will she look like then? When she looks in the mirror on that day, will she see a reflection of the somewhat insecure gal in the above photo, or will she exude the extremely outgoing, independent, creative, courageous, confident, boisterous spirit she has now? My prayer is that she will never let the harshness and deceptiveness of this world distort her perception of her true beauty and infinite worth.