Usually, you don’t see this level of giddiness following a two-hour musical remembrance of the Holocaust. Not that it wasn’t warranted.
“Did you hear how we got the most applause?” were the first words out of The Chatty Chatty Princess’s mouth.
“Yes, you did,” knowing precisely why. And it wasn’t for the reason she thought.
We wound our way through other Children’s Choir members in the green room at Orchestra Hall, found our way out, and walked back to the car. Or at least The Voice of Reason and I walked. My 10-year-old probably thought she was walking, but was closer to twirling, despite never really going around in a circle. Meanwhile, I was preoccupied for the 323rd time by how freaking cold this winter was.
Cold and dark and sick. And not just me. The whole family has been cold and sick for weeks. And it was late and there were dirty dinner dishes stacked next to the sink and lunches to be made and laundry to be done and a stupid post on Livan Hernandez to write. My wife and I had already decided we would be going straight home.
So we hurtled down 35W as a monologue emerged from the back seat. Underneath it, I whispered, “I want pie”.
“Fine,” TVOR sighed.
I don’t know why the night called for pie. I suspect it’s some submerged childhood memory, or possibly it’s genetic, but after a night on stage, there must be pie. These last couple of weeks hadn’t been easy, for her or for us, and this was the payoff. This night without pie would be a flower picked but not smelled.
TCCP hovered approximately four inches above the booth bench in a perpetual state of motion. TVOR watched with a perpetual state of amusement. And I sat across from them, feeling around the table with my heart, soaking in the joy, in the same way TCCP had soaked in something else during that standing ovation.
The music and message had been strong, but the payoff for the parents wasn’t in the haunting tunes or pictures. Our payoff was a chance to join a throng in expressing the hope and emotion we felt towards our kids. And to watch the kids feel that. My not-so-little girl was apparently still riding that wave.
“What was your favorite part of the Oratorio?” asked my wife.
“Well,” she replied sheepishly, “when Osmo pointed to us, and we standed up alone, and everyone clapped extra hard.”
When that happened, I grabbed the binoculars, because I wanted to see her face. She thought the extra applause was about a job well done and songs well sung. But that was only the source of the initial applause. The extra applause was an early valentine. That extra wave she felt was love.
Baseball Stuff
Sometimes you just find the right writer in the right place at the right time. Yesterday that writer was Jason Stark. If you haven't read his blog about the congressional hearings yesterday, you're missing out.
Back tomorow with more on Joe Nathan and the right and wrong kind of contract the Twins should offer him.
“Did you hear how we got the most applause?” were the first words out of The Chatty Chatty Princess’s mouth.
“Yes, you did,” knowing precisely why. And it wasn’t for the reason she thought.
We wound our way through other Children’s Choir members in the green room at Orchestra Hall, found our way out, and walked back to the car. Or at least The Voice of Reason and I walked. My 10-year-old probably thought she was walking, but was closer to twirling, despite never really going around in a circle. Meanwhile, I was preoccupied for the 323rd time by how freaking cold this winter was.
Cold and dark and sick. And not just me. The whole family has been cold and sick for weeks. And it was late and there were dirty dinner dishes stacked next to the sink and lunches to be made and laundry to be done and a stupid post on Livan Hernandez to write. My wife and I had already decided we would be going straight home.
So we hurtled down 35W as a monologue emerged from the back seat. Underneath it, I whispered, “I want pie”.
“Fine,” TVOR sighed.
I don’t know why the night called for pie. I suspect it’s some submerged childhood memory, or possibly it’s genetic, but after a night on stage, there must be pie. These last couple of weeks hadn’t been easy, for her or for us, and this was the payoff. This night without pie would be a flower picked but not smelled.
TCCP hovered approximately four inches above the booth bench in a perpetual state of motion. TVOR watched with a perpetual state of amusement. And I sat across from them, feeling around the table with my heart, soaking in the joy, in the same way TCCP had soaked in something else during that standing ovation.
The music and message had been strong, but the payoff for the parents wasn’t in the haunting tunes or pictures. Our payoff was a chance to join a throng in expressing the hope and emotion we felt towards our kids. And to watch the kids feel that. My not-so-little girl was apparently still riding that wave.
“What was your favorite part of the Oratorio?” asked my wife.
“Well,” she replied sheepishly, “when Osmo pointed to us, and we standed up alone, and everyone clapped extra hard.”
When that happened, I grabbed the binoculars, because I wanted to see her face. She thought the extra applause was about a job well done and songs well sung. But that was only the source of the initial applause. The extra applause was an early valentine. That extra wave she felt was love.
Baseball Stuff
Sometimes you just find the right writer in the right place at the right time. Yesterday that writer was Jason Stark. If you haven't read his blog about the congressional hearings yesterday, you're missing out.
Back tomorow with more on Joe Nathan and the right and wrong kind of contract the Twins should offer him.
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9 comments:
I thought this had something to do with a cubs prospect
"When that happened, I grabbed the binoculars, because I wanted to see her face. She thought the extra applause was about a job well done and songs well sung. But that was only the source of the initial applause. The extra applause was an early valentine. That extra wave she felt was love."
Are you serious? This blog is so melodramatic sometimes. Seems to have gotten worse. I don't know if it's just me, but you should stick to baseball if you don't want people vomiting on their keyboards.
Uh, Serq? You might want to glance at the calender. It's Valentine's Day, buddy? A guy who devotes the vast majority of his posts to sports subjects (and who promises to return to sports tomorrow) has the gall to pen a sentimental valentine on the one day of the year devoted to sentimental valentines and you start spraying vomit everywhere?
I'm sorry, but I can't help but picture you as that big fat restaurant patron in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. Food
sent that fellow into paroxyms of vomiting; overt displays of sentimentality has that effect on you, apparently. Given that it's Valentines Day today, somebody better get a bucket.
John, it's OK to write about the love and hope you feel about your children. Since you are obviously a proud parent and husband, if you didn't (on occasion) write about what your family means to you, I'd be worried about you on a personal level.
Besides this is YOUR blog, your life is about more than just the Twins, and you'd probably burn out if you only wrtote about Twins-related issues. Just don't make the writings too personal and too frequent, and as long as you remain one of the most on-point bloggers about the Twins, that's all I care about. Keep up the good work, and I'll keep reading.
Count me in agreement with Drew.
Being a Twins fan is great (usually). Being a baseball fan is special.
Nothing... and I mean nothing... beats being a 'dad'.
Congrats and Happy Valentines Day to you, TVOR and especially TCCP. I hope the pie was good.
Hopefully, serq doesn't have any kids, or for that matter any family. That way he can sit at home alone in the dark and vomit on himself.
Keep up the awesome blogging John.
:-)
Guys, this is nothing. First of all, serq is right. I wasn't quite as happy with that ending. It was a little over the top.
But secondly, if you really want someone spewing bile about me not writing about baseball, you should've checked out the comments on the Strib's site three years ago. Good lord. Of all the posts/comments I lost out there, that's the one I miss the most.
I wrote about KG gaining confidence in big game, and compared it to watching a kid I knew play in a recital and there must have been 20 vitrolic, really hateful posts, blasting me for not writing about the Twins. It was so over the top that my friends sent out emails nationwide to other friends directing them to stop by and laugh. It was like I had ripped up a picture of the pope. Or maybe Hrbek.
Anyway, thanks for reading. This blog will continue to be what I want it to be.
I'm with Serq.
You Sally...
Thanks for letting us know how TCCP did. I'm glad she had a great time. (Kal)
Besides, there is always room for pie...or jello(Bob)
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