First of Many?

I have always been a music lover and, since the children were born, I have looked forward to the day when one of them might be able to enjoy a live performance with me. Harper has already been to many stage performances, plays of the musical and non-musical variety, but tonight was her first concert.

It felt like kind of a big decision to attend, not because of ticket expense (it was $2 Tuesday!), but because the show didn't begin until 8 p.m. - otherwise known as bedtime for Harper. But, again, for $2 I figured even if we only made it through the first hour, that was a pretty good return on our investment. So we packed up the picnic blanket (the venue has a lawn) and some snack bags and hit the road.

I don't know if any of you watched The Sing-Off this winter - the groups we were going to see both performed on the show. We saw our local high school a cappella group as well as Committed, the winners of season two.

The venue is an outdoor one, so we spread our blanket on the lawn and settled in for an evening of great music. I had a small shock when the high school group named their members and I realized one of  the students from my very first first-grade class was up there performing. The friend sitting next to me asked whether I felt proud or old and the answer was, "Both!" This particular student was the type that had a difficult time with the restrictions of a traditional classroom and he and I and his parents worked together to make sure he had a successful year in first grade - he was so creative and intelligent, I used to say I knew he would do great things if he survived his formal schooling! What a treat it was to see him up there performing, all grown up and wowing the crowd.

Harper loved the music and was entertaining the people around us with her wacky dancing. Over the course of the evening it got dark, the moon rose to the right of the stage, and Harper snuggled into my lap. The air grew cooler and we wrapped ourselves up in the blanket as the stars began to appear. A child after my own heart, Harper hung in there until the very last song.

I imagine this night will be just one blip on the timeline of Harper's childhood memories, folded in and blurred among picnics, park days, basketball games, library visits, and probably too much television. I, on the other hand, will never forget the experience of being bundled up under the inky night sky, sharing one of my favorite experiences with my daughter for the very first time.