I think it’s of the utmost importance to celebrate small wins in our parenting journey. There are plenty of things in our daily lives worry about and bring us down. These small victories are paramount to maintain a sense of balance, happiness and, let’s face it, sanity.
I experienced one of these small-yet-significant parenting victories last month. Justin sings in an adult choir, and spends at least one night every week practicing with this group. They are incredibly talented, and I wanted to take the kids to see one of their performances. We arrived at the concert venue a few minutes before the doors opened, which was a win in and of itself, but not the one I’m most proud of. As we made our way into the large room, I realized I hadn’t thought about where we’d sit, and only had a split second to think through my seating plan. For years, we’ve seated ourselves toward the back at these kind of events in an effort to stay out of the way, and hopefully make less of a disruption when things inevitably went wrong or awry. This time, though, I decided that we were going to make a quick beeline for the front row. I knew Justin had a solo in the concert, and was thinking how fun it would be for the kids to be right up close.
The concert began, and we all quickly settled into a trance, listening to the beautiful music, and watching Justin as well as a few other dear friends in the group with him. Quinn, sitting on my lap, fell asleep within the first 10 minutes. There’s something about choral music that’s so relaxing, and I loved seeing him lulled by its beauty. The other kids sat there in the front row next to me, listening, shifting their bodies from here to there, and watching intently with eyes enthralled and engaged. The group did an incredible job.
The concert lasted for an hour and a half. And you know what? My kids were AMAZING. No whining, no arguing with each other, no bothering each other. They didn’t even ask, “How many songs are left?!” – usually their favorite question during both choral performances and weekly Mass. As a result, I too was able to enjoy the concert, and enjoy watching my husband and our friends share one of their gifts. It was MAGICAL.
I never thought we’d get there. To be able to sit in the front row, of an adult choral concert no less, without me leaving in tears was monumental. I know these events won’t always go like this one did, but that’s all the more reason celebrate this victory. At least for today, we had arrived.
