Grace for the season

Last night, Thor took me on a mystery date, one he arranged only a mere 36 hours beforehand. This didn't allow me the time I usually have to figure out where we were going - thank goodness! Because even when I want to be surprised, my little brain usually figures things out - I despise my intuition/brilliance sometimes. Thanks to the kindness of one of his co-workers, Deb, who had excellent babysitting credentials (raised 3 children, is a nurse, likes children, was available), we headed out the door to our surprise destination.

I should admit at this point that as soon as we got close, my very limited suspicions about where we might be going were confirmed. Like I said, drat that intuition. We were going to The Temple Theatre to listen to the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra play their "Christmas Around the World" concert. Thor in his unparalleled networking abilities had procured free tickets from work since St. Mary's of Michigan was the main sponsor of the concert. We commented on how full the parking lots were around the theatre and were told at the beginning of the concert that this was the first sold out performance of the season! We found our seats and shimmied past a mom and dad and their three elementary school aged children. I admit my mind did wonder how they were going to endure this 1 1/2 hour long performance since the median age throughout the theatre must have been 68. But almost immediately it made me think back to when my mom and dad in their desire to have us experience the bigger world around us, would take us as elementary school aged children to concerts, musicals, museums, etc.... and how they must have known that it would take a little extra work on their part to help us behave ourselves.

Sure enough, the 7 or 8 year old boy sitting next to me got a little antsy, and sometimes forgot to use his whisper when asking his mom when was the show going to be over and could he have a snack, and swung his legs that didn't touch the ground and shifted a lot in his seat trying to find a comfortable position. All things I'm sure I did at some point too. But all in all, the kids did a really good job of behaving. Then came the piece where the orchestra was going to be playing while our Saginaw mayor, Mayor Branch would be reading "Twas the night before Christmas," and we realized that the man walking on stage was the man who had been sitting next to us with his wife and three kids. And I immediately thought, "Of course, the Mayor and his wife wanted their kids to experience the bigger world around them and get to see their daddy doing something as special as reading a poem before 2000+ people!" I hope it softened the hearts of the people who sat around us and had maybe felt a little irritated when the kids weren't quiet as church mice. I know that it gave me an extra dose of compassion. After intermission, Mrs. Mayor sat next to me and when she apologized to me about having to sit next to her son, I knew this was an opportunity to extend a lot of grace to her. I told her that she had nothing to apologize for, and when she said that she thought we were going to be good parents (she must have noticed my protruding belly with the cardigan sweater that wouldn't button all the way), I told her we already had a little one at home which I hoped helped her to know that we knew what she was experiencing and what we would be experiencing in the future. We moms have to back each other up, even when we don't know each other, and I hope that when I'm in the same position a few years down the road, someone will give me words of grace to let me know they understand and aren't judging me.

The concert ended, we scooted out the door into the cold night air and headed home, thankful for a free date night and even more thankful when we got home and Deb told us that Pascal cooperated and went to bed without a fight or tears and snuggled on her shoulder which made her happy.

And I was additionally thankful when Pascal slept 1 hour later than normal, giving me time for a shower before he got up. I'll have to ask Deb what her secret was to get him to sleep in longer.