"We are the Shepherds..."

"...Who Watch the Sheep. Tonight a Holy Watch We Keep."

That was B's line today for the school Christmas play. He's the one in the blue robe with the white headpiece to our immediate left of the angel.

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I arrived fifteen minutes before the scheduled start, and the place was packed, much more so than when Precious Daughter did her kindergarten performance two years ago. There are very few "good spots" in this room to view anything, and my location was downright lousy. I would have been better off standing on a chair in the back, and I wish I had.

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I stood near-ish to the front, though, because it was important for Mighty B. to be able to spot me. If he couldn't find me, I suspect he wouldn't have focused on his line or his songs very well. It's silly, I know. Most of the time the kid doesn't give a rat's patootie about what his mother wants, especially when it concerns his behavior, but at least he wants me around for these little highlights.

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What you don't see is my poor kid's discomfort in this costume. The blue robe, despite being a lightweight flannel (which is almost like Velcro in contact with other fabric), kept sliding off his shoulders. I admit that it didn't occur to me to pin it somehow, mainly because I've done this same basic thing before and it stayed in place without one. (Thank you, Mrs. M., for setting it right when it fell off completely.)

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The headdress, for lack of better term, was annoying him too. It must have been tickling his eyelash or something.

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Between the sheep occupying one hand, the crook filling the other, the misbehaving robe and his annoying headdress, the poor kid was one uncomfortable, distracted camper. He carefully put his crook down two or three times during the performance to try brushing the headpiece out of his face or hitch the blue robe back onto his shoulder. To his credit, he kept singing when he was supposed to sing and was silent when he should be silent. I am quite proud of him.

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Mighty B being who he is, I made the shepherd's crook out of styrofoam. I was afraid of giving him sticks, canes, pool cues, or any other potential weaponry. I know my son. Before the thing was even finished, he lifted it up and pointed it at his sister like a rifle. (Don't know where he learned that; we have no guns around here and watch little television.)

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Anyway, the kindergarten class did an excellent job with their lines and performances. I'd post more pictures, but I don't feel right doing that with other peoples' kids.

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I go back this afternoon for Precious Daughter's class project: Gingerbread houses. (Well, technically, they're graham-cracker houses.) I'll post more later.