Winter Wonderland?


Rhiannon had her first official I'm-singing-in-a-school-assembly gig this afternoon. It's the obligatory school choral concert for the winter season (we used to call is the Christmas Concert, but there you go). The gig was at five, so the parents who could get to the gym on time to support their kids were there; the place was packed.

Rhiannon's group (kindergarten/first grade) would be singing last, so we all sat through twenty-five minutes of the most adorable asynchronous, avant garde renditions of "Frosty the Snowman", "Winter Wonderland", something that must have been "Jingle Bell Rock", and a surprisingly good version of "Santa Baby" by the three-year-old early-learners' program. They grow up so fast!

As the kids were singing, I was wondering how many of the children singing "Winter Wonderland" here in Phoenix, Arizona, had actually played in snow, not to mention facing unafraid the plans that they made, and getting married by a faux Parson Brown. I mean, this isn't northeastern Arizona....

Anyway, Rhiannon's group literally stormed the stage, a thundering heard of five- and six-year olds. Rhiannon was front-row, center (not pictured above -- pictures forthcoming, patient readers), wearing a light-blue, velvet skirt, light-pink, velvet top, rainbow-colored tights, and pink, sparkly princess shoes. Her hair that her mother had neatly done this morning, was back to its natural, Christopher Walken state. Her ice-blue eyes beamed like halogens on a winter night in Reykjavik.

While the rest of her classmates were shuffling their feet waiting to be told to sing, Rhiannon was striking poses, throwing her hands in the air, blowing kisses, jumping up and down. She was channeling Miley Cyrus at a Jonas Brothers concert (or was it the other way around). And the kinds SANG. They raised their voices and the roof. You've probably heard it said that the enthusiasm and energy of kids who are five and six is the highest it's ever going to get; they all have hope and they haven't yet learned shame, or how to be cool. They just DO for the sake of DOING. And they love it.

So they sang three songs, all of which were new to me. And after each song ended, Rhiannon would jump up and down, shout "Whoooo!!!", take a bow, and kick, throwing mock karate poses like she was part of the Crazy 88s. I mean, what says "Merry Christmas" like a beating at the hands of Lucy Liu?

Anyway, the last song involved the kids crumpling up pieces of paper and at the very end they all pelted the audience -- snowball fight! Rhiannon jumped up and down some more, sang her heart out (per usual), and then it was cookie time and lemonade. Afterwards we drove around to look at Christmas lights, and then home for supper where Rhiannon, still high from the performance spent the better part of the evening running around.

Rhiannon loves the stage, not nervous at all. She loves to sing-a.

Rhiannon. Cute for the holidays.

Andrew (Papa)