Christmas Concert

I’d written some time back about my youngest stepson Nathan and his lack of interest in any type of sports.  He had played some baseball but wasn’t passionate about it enough to want to go out and practice each day which is what it takes when kids get older and the sport all of the sudden becomes much more serious.

In the past year, we have seen him try out an activity – playing the saxophone.  His mom searched out a teacher who could provide lessons, bought the instrument and we hoped that this might be something he really liked.

This year, his mom and stepdad got him a purple saxophone for Christmas and let him have it early.  I cannot tell you how excited he was about this gift.  If he was at our house, he would leave and run down the street to see if his special delivery had arrived.  In the meantime, he would pull up photos of the purple sax on his phone and show us, telling us he was SURE that is what the gift was and couldn’t wait until it arrived.

This school year, Nathan had the opportunity to get in to the 6th grade band class.  He made it and we have watched him dial in his talents on the saxophone and heard him play us a tune now and then.  Then he started letting us know that they were having a Christmas concert.  This was really starting to become official.  He had to wear certain shirt/pants/shoes and they had a full out rehearsal the Friday before the concert.

Monday night rolled around and we all headed for the high school and took our seats in the auditorium. I have to say one of the most impressive sights to me was the fact that there were over 120 kids on that stage and only two instructors.  You could tell each member of the band was disciplined and anxiously awaited for their section to be called on to play their part.  Clarinets and trumpets were very large sections (over 30 kids each) and then some sections were much smaller with only three or four.

Finally, the saxophones played their song. We smiled as we listened knowing this is what Nathan had been working so hard for — his big debut!  We beamed with pride and of course felt like the saxophones’ ensemble was the best of all.  At the close of the concert we left the auditorium to find our little musician so we could give him a giant hug and let him know how proud we were of him.

How do you help your kids find an activity they love?

Makala Pollard is a Senior Marketing Specialist for Texas Health Resources and Stepmom to two boys and after a six-year journey of infertility is expecting a daughter in March.