100% Chance of Rain

When I was a kid, we did a cool musical in church one year.  It was called 100% Chance of Rain and told the story of - you guessed it - Noah and the Ark.

Yesterday, the kindergartners through middle schoolers at our church performed the same show.  And I cried.

My reaction was partly nostalgia.  But it was also a different, newer kind of sadness.  Because I should have had a child up there singing the songs I sang as a kid.  Instead, my kindergartner sat beside me, wriggling on her daddy's lap.  She started out the year in choir last fall, but just wasn't ready.

The choir director was happy to include Ellie; the decision for her to sit out was ours.  Or, more accurately, Ellie's.  I insisted that Ellie and I attend the kindergarten through second grade Cherubs choir all fall semester, but Ellie struggled.  She really wanted to spend another year in preschool MusikGarten.  So I agreed and she, Ada, and I have had a wonderful time together with our friends in MusikGarten this spring.

I love my kid.  I cherish the way she enjoys music and I melt with happiness when she glows at MusikGarten.  I know we made the right decision for her.  But it's still hard, sometimes, seeing the differences in what our lives are, what Ellie's struggles are, from what I expected them to be.

Mostly, things are good. Really good. But it's still hard sometimes, too.



I'm bummed that I couldn't find a recording of my favorite song from the show, "Follow the Instructions," but here's some other church's kids singing "The Admirable Admiral."


And here's a different version of the whole show. "Follow the Instructions" shows up at about 16:15 into the 33 minute performance.
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/414246