Wednesday, May 28, 2003

A little night music

Say a prayer tonight, those of you who are so inclined, for my son, who will against all odds be performing in his school's chorus concert. That is, if he makes it through the rehearsal today without ticking off the music teacher sufficiently to earn an ouster from the group. I've been expecting that to happen since the idea arose for my guy to join the chorus in the first place. After all, this is a teacher who has consistently given him bad report-card marks for behavior in music class. When the note came home saying my boy had been accepted in chorus -- not that they asked me first whether I though it would be a good idea to even mention it to him -- I approached the teacher and asked: Are you sure about this? Do we really think asking a kid who can't make it through music class without a meltdown to stay after school, at which point he's usually used up all his resources for control, and behave himself in a large group of mainstream kids with no aide is a good idea? But the teacher suggested we give it a try and reassess on a weekly basis, and the child was enthusiastic about participating, and so the mom gave a wary okay. And who knew? Here we are in May, with a concert to attend.

Honestly, I still can't believe it. If he really gets up on that stage tonight and sings and stands there nicely without drawing attention to himself, I will watch in shock and awe. Heck, I'll be shocked and awed if he just stands there nicely. It seems to be such a bad idea through and through, such an unlikely situation, such high odds for him to find success, that part of me is still sure I'll find a note in his bookbag today saying, "Please keep this little hellion as far away from the auditorium tonight as you possibly can." If he makes it and does okay, does this mean I really don't know anything? Naaah, can't be. If he gets on that stage, folks, he'll need prayers. Lots and lots of prayers. And maybe a few for the mom having a nervous attack in the audience, too.

No comments: