Going to see your kids perform

I went to pick up Snuggler and Little Guy from jazz choir yesterday, and got talking with two parents I don't know. One was saying that his son had asked him to be part of the back-up parent choir for Tuxedo Junction, but he was going to be out of town the weekend of the concert. The other parent said her son had been pestering her to participate. Mine hadn't asked, and I didn't volunteer. The dad then turned to me and asked, "How do you manage going to everything with your kids?"

I laughed and replied, "Oh, mine know that there will always be someone who's important to them in the audience. It might be their godmother or a friend's mom, but it won't always be me."

My kids are in a lot of activities. This is because we homeschool and have time and energy for afterschool classes, and I want my children to have exposure to people outside of the family. But when the soccer field lies north and the ballet studio is to the south, logistics are a challenge. And when Nutcracker tickets cost $65 each, we're not having six people attend six times. There are ways to be supportive without taking up residence in the audience.

Besides, there's an age at which a child has to decide to play sports or be in plays or dance or sing because he or she has a passion for it, instead of so Mom can see. Around here that shift has generally happened at around age nine.

But yesterday I remembered that I do need to go see Dancer do her tap class. I haven't seen her at all, and watching for ten minutes is better than the alternative: having her demonstrate her new abilities at home, where our floor is the ceiling of our downstairs neighbor.