I didn’t really think about it last year, but the rest of the town and even the Ridge River district can’t have very many people around during the school Christmas concert. The gymnasium was full, and the only way they’d have room for more would be if we moved the show over to the church sanctuary. Even Jacob and Miranda came to watch Jake, Stephanie, Rebecca, and Michael. Some of the stores – like Palmer’s and Emerson Computers were closed for a couple of hours while the parents were at the school. You’d never see that happen in a big city!
Mom and Dad brought Ethan and Ehlana with them, and Aunt Leanne and Claire closed the office so they could come along for the fun. We all did have fun too! The kids and teens that really loved getting to showcase their special talents had their chances to shine. Rowen and I were happy to mostly watch the action with the rest of the audience except for the few minutes we were on stage for the few minutes it took for our class performance.
My favorite parts of the concert were the skits, including the one that Jake and Stephanie did with some other teens; all of the songs that the school band played; and a few of the solo or group musical numbers that were done by some of the most talented kids and teens. Don’t take this anywhere it’s not meant to go (Aunt Leanne), but yes, I did think that the guitar and vocal performance by a certain classmate of mine was one of those favorites. I’m sure he got the musical gift from his father; though I hadn’t known until today that he was such a talented musician. He almost seemed embarrassed by the applause when he was finished; and other than getting hugs from his parents after the concert was over; he did his best to stay out of the spotlight that most of the other show ‘stars’ were basking in.
Before any witnesses that might read this in the future can file a complaint; yes, I did hug him, and he got razzed about it by his buddies. I also hugged at least a hundred other people this afternoon too, so don’t make a big deal about that either!
Rowen and I went home with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; and we helped her with getting them nursed before putting them down for a short nap. There was more baking to do after that, and Rowen helped out with that until going home for the night after her parents closed the store and picked her up on their way by. I was part of the baking team until bedtime; and have been working on my computer since getting changed and snuggling under the blankets with Mandy.
I kept the archive studying down to just over an hour, and it’s only a bit after midnight. There’s more work that I could do, but I’ve had enough for today. I don’t expect to get much rest this weekend; so an extra hour or two tonight and tomorrow night is probably a good plan too. It’s time to switch to hours on the holiday countdown. We’ve got seventy-two hours until Christmas (plus a few more hours until the Christmas morning wake-up calls); about forty-three or four hours until the family starts arriving for the weekend; and just over thirty-nine hours until school’s out for the holidays!