Page 41 - Highlights for Children (December 2017)

I can’t believe this is
early because a special guest is
here to help us with a performance
for Winter Fair. Let’s all welcome
Arizona’s mother.”
I looked up to discover my
mom standing at the front of the
room wearing the world’s goofiest
snowflake hat.
“I’m super-duper excited to be
here with you kiddos!” my mom
said. “I’m going to teach you a fun
little song-and-dance number I
learned a few years back, when
I did some theater in college.
Here goes!”
Oh, please, oh, please, I said
over and over in my head, let there
be a fire drill, or an assembly,
or a power outage, or anything
to stop my mom from completely
embarrassing herself—and me!!!
But apparently, my mom was not
at all concerned about looking silly.
She turned on some background
music and started singing and
dancing away.
I can’t believe this is happening
was all I could think as I closed
my eyes, covered my ears, and
shrank as low as I possibly could
in my chair.
happening was all
I could think.
After a few seconds, though,
I mustered up enough courage to
uncover one ear and peek through
a half-open eye. That’s when I
saw the expression of pure joy on
my mom’s face. She was having
so much fun, I couldn’t help
smiling. My classmates clapped
and cheered, and I heard someone
say, “Wow! Arizona’s mother is
pretty talented!”
Not only did my mom turn out
to be more than a little OK at
performing, but she was also good
at teaching us the song and the
dance steps, too. By the time of
the fair, I was actually proud of
“I’m really glad you helped my
class with the performance.”
her for putting herself out there
for the sake of us kids.
“I’m really glad you helped my
class with the performance,” I
said to my mom as we drove home
from Winter Fair.
My mom reached back and
squeezed my hand. “Thanks for
saying that, ’Zona. I can see why
you might’ve been embarrassed,
but I had such a great time.”
She was having so
much fun, I couldn’t
help smiling.
So, dear Mortified, I guess
you could try to explain to your
dad how it makes you feel when
he sings in the car. He may stop
doing it if he knows how much it
embarrasses you. Or you could
let go of your own worries and
just try to be happy that your
dad is having fun being himself.
In my experience, that’s the
kinder (and easier) route for
everyone involved.
Ciao for now,
Arizona