Musical Performance - Don't Worry About It
This weekend was Matthew's third grade music performance. About 40 third graders showed up to put on a performance for the community - by which I mean "other third grade parents". Matthew told me that he needed to wear something green - as these songs were all about the importance of protecting the environment (common third grade material). He chose the clever idea of simply reversing his basketball shorts (black outside, green inside). That worked fine for me - and that was all we did.
I sat down between two moms who are friends of mine and we were discussing our preparations for the show. One mom had gone shopping that day to purchase a green shirt for her son (who didn't care at all). The other mom had a girl, so the girl searched around to find a green dress and a green hair band. It was at that point that I realized that the thought of preparing Matthew for this performance had not even crossed my mind. I was pretty much focused on just getting him there on time. Sure, I was also focused on: (1) Arrange for additional cookies at Girl Scout booth; (2) Drop off e-waste recycling; (3) Get Matthew to basketball playoff game; and (4) Arrange play date for Matthew during Girl Scout Cookie sale. I guess that having a lot to do apparently frees me from spending too much time on any particular item.
I have observed that moms can get a bit overwrought at things that just don't bother guys - and that don't matter. My neighbor was very concerned that her son's hands were in his pocket - and he was in the center of the front row. I thought it made him look totally cool and relaxed. Nothing to worry about at all. In fact, that would really be the key lesson - there really is no need to worry about all these little things - such as how your kid is dressed up for a random musical performance.