Three children, three programs, three reactions

We had three holiday programs to attend this year. This was the first time all of our children had programs and created an exciting and busy week. When I think about it, this is the first year we had more than one child's holiday program.
We attended three programs at two different schools and we witnessed three different reactions. Lane's event started with the children acting like the teachers, showing the parent what their day entails. Andrew got to see what Lane does while she is at Montessori in the morning. She is a hard worker who stays busy and has incredible focus for her age. When Andrew and Lane completed their tasks, Lane sang songs enthusiastically.

Gabriel had an evening Polar Express concert. The kids wore pajamas and dressed up as reindeer, elves, and Santa. Gabriel started on the stage in the cafeteria with his friends. The curtains closed and a narrator began the story. When the curtains opened, Gabriel wasn't on the stage. I wasn't concerned because I know he gets overwhelmed.
I wasn't happy when I heard him talking to his teacher, over the singing children, about how he was naughty. I had to walk to the side stage in order to escort him to the cafeteria. All would have been fine except that he continued to yell about his poor behavior and choices, asking to go back to the stage. I had to find a way to leave with him, while wearing heels. It presented quite a challenge as he continued to ask to go back on stage, louder and louder and pushed his body into me. It was a short, ten minute Polar Express concert for us.

Alex's concert included three first grade classes on the risers in the cafeteria stage. His event was at 9:45 in the morning. Alex was on the end with the biggest smile, beaming with pride. He followed the hand movements and sang quietly. He was picked to play the bells and shook them to the beat and took his role very seriously. He was so darn cute; I wanted to eat him up.