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Christmas Concerts and Such | Pad Patter 12.8.15.

jenevang

jenevang

Rocking a two-piece under my scrubs
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So... I'm heading out the door in a few minutes to enjoy my kids school Christmas Concert (I use the word "enjoy" loosely b/c honestly, it is usually SO.LONG. #sogladtheydonotreadthis #motheroftheyear #not)

And I have a Christmas "Soiree" this weekend which I am literally DREADING. Over an hour of piano music. No words. At all. Kill.me.now.

Throw in The Nutcracker Ballet for yet another year (performed by local dancers/children) and I have the Trifecta of Holiday musical torture.

Am I alone here? PLEASE, someone tell me I'm not alone in my lack of enjoyment of these wonderful musical events. PLEASE.

:giggle
 
You're not alone.

I'm okay with Clara's dance performances this year because she's with a new company and I haven't seen the dances before (but I have heard that they do recycle some of their holiday pieces, so I'll probably be seeing them again next year).

Sunday night is Lessons and Carols at church, same songs, same format every single year. It's also the cap on our completely packed weekend, so I could do without it. However, after is the cookies and cocoa reception, that makes up for it (almost).

Clara's school program is PAINFUL. Especially since she doesn't even perform (the kids either take choir or band and the band has a separate concert in January). She's just required to go because at the end the entire middle school stands up and sings some Christmas song. Last year I sent her by herself since we just live about a block and a half from school. :whistle This year we might not be able to make it since she has a dance performance that afternoon (darn!).

Alex is in high school and isn't involved with anything that has a Christmas program (except church choir). But I will be sitting through a whole day of robotics at his competition on Saturday.
 
We were sort of disappointed that Kennedy doesn't have one :giggle I mean, I'm sure I would feel tortured if I had to sit through a bunch of other bad music, but I'm sort of waiting for his first. :)
 
You are so not alone! I sat through many of them with my now grown kids and I honestly never really "enjoyed" them. It was great for them, but torture for me. It's not that I don't appreciate their hard work, but they are soooo long! I am glad to know that I'm not alone :)
 
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I. AM. FREE.
two years ago, the school thinking it is unfair for parents of 2rd graders to sit thru Kinders, and 1st grade sing songs. Well, 4 kids sing, the other 38 stare into space(of which my boys are in the later group).
So we sat, and watched those lucky parents of just 2nd graders leave...we stayed for the 1st graders (cause we hadn't watch this one stand and not sing and had too)
then those lucky ones left, and our kinder non singer who actually sat behind the whole choir. So 3 hours of torture.
I asked the boys, do you want to go to this??
NOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooo
so.
we don't. They are so relieved, and my husband believes I am brilliant!
 
I don't think you are alone Jen.

I reckon that is the only reason I'm glad Sarita is 19.

She got through an audition back in August I think? for a professional staging of A Christmas Carol , she got given the female main role. It is a weird take on it, with puppets and something else... I love the original, but not sure I am too excited at this, even though is professional is still young actors... PLUS I had to pay £15... and not being in the best of times of our mother daughter understanding relationship...... well, anyway, I'm convinced things would get better when we put the tree and start sorting food :)
 
OK... full disclosure. We went to the concert (of course). We listened to various children (most of which were not mine) sing and play random instruments for 2 hours (side note: beginner violinists are not easy on the ears, LOL). We praised them appropriately. I took photos of the backs of heads from a distance that will prove to be impossible to see the performers.

And another memory was made.

P.S. I really do love my kids. Even when I don't always love their activities.
 
I don't remember much of my mom being at my performances, though I'm sure she did when I was younger. And i know we were usually given a choice to stay home from sibling's events. By high school, I know I drove myself and pretty sure they skipped them.

My mom did come with us to my kids' day care Christmas program on Monday.
 
Ha ha! You're not along Jen. I had my son's band concert on Sunday afternoon. My friend and I were sitting outside the closed doors to the gym where the concert was going to be and we saw another family from our church/school there that didn't even have kids in the band yet. We wondered why they were there and I said, they were probably there because they wanted to give their kids culture and they are good like that. I said, they aren't like the rest of us that are there because we have to be. :giggle We both had a good chuckle about that. The good news is that the concert was only 45 minutes long and was actually really good considering it started with kids who have only been in band for 3 months.

Now we only have one school children led Advent services to go.
 
My daughter has her Orchestra concert on the 14th. My son has his Winter performance on the 15th. It's only about 20 minutes a piece so it's not bad. It just kind of messes up our dinner time for both nights. But, since my daughter's is Monday night, she'll miss her tumbling class that night and they usually do a special routine that they teach them that night so the performance is all sorts of jacked up. :p
 
I'm a bad but super lucky Mom. Ours have been during my working hours, so I can't go, nor do I take off (bad Mom)... the boys and I have chatted about this and I have asked if they would rather me come to a party or a book reading at school, or a concert. They both get to choose which events I attend, and DH attends. (Lucky Mom) This way I try to not feel too guilty.

This year, I get to attend the End of the Year party and a Book Reading (I read a book and we chat about it, then FOOD!) for my 2nd grader. My 5th grader wanted DH to go to Halloween, but we found out there was no parade for his class... so we aren't sure what he would like us to do. I think they opted to do a Spring Concert for his age... which I might be stuck going to. lol!
 
Daniel doesn't have anything this year, but I have endured my share of school performances, with him in other years and with Olivia throughout her 12 years.

As far as the Nutcracker goes, I've seen it, and don't want to see it again, BUT my mother-in-law loves it and wants us to go every year. Somehow we escaped the torture this year. LOL
 
I've never seen the Nutcracker. I think I should someday though. Feels like I'm missing out on some kind of tradition.
 
Everyone should see the Nutcracker. Once. LOL. We have a friend of the family who makes it a tradition every year and DD and I go with her b/c she has no kids or other family in town. My DD is even tired of it, but she is learning the importance of a little sacrifice for those we love, hehe.
 
Clara was in the Joffrey Nutcracker here in Chicago a couple of years. I concentrated a lifetime of Nutcracker viewing into that time and now I'm good. I'm actually not sure I could sit through it again if I didn't know someone in the production. The ballet studio she grew up in did a little abbreviated Nutcracker for the parents and that I enjoyed. Dances all back to back, no filler and done!
 
This has been the first year I've really enjoyed Sebastian's concerts. Last week he had his orchestra concert... but by high school, they actually sound pretty incredible...especially in the large group. I'd say there are close to 200 students in their high school orchestra, so it sounded amazing! They did a few Transiberian Orchestra songs and a few other new takes on traditional Christmas songs. It was 90 minutes well spent!

Today he had his beginning piano concert. He played a solo... I was impressed! I honestly had no idea he could play piano that well. Here's a link to the video (I think it will work), if you want to hear him play the song from Polar Express... it's pretty short. But yeah, I enjoyed it.

Now, next week I will have to endure my 7th grader's orchestra concert.... that is about 25 too many violins playing at all the wrong times on all the wrong notes. It's no bueno. But they're learning. And I'm sure they'll sound amazing by the time they hit high school as well!
 
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