Have you ever had one of those moments that in the very heart of it you thought, “I want to remember this forever!”?
I had one on Saturday.
Bill and I traveled a little over an hour Saturday afternoon to cheer on our son in our school’s varsity show choir.
If I may digress a moment, we are smack-dab in the middle of show choir season. If you’ve never experienced the world of show choir, it’s something I suggest putting on your “bucket list.” Show choir back in my day (boy, I sound old, don’t I??) was not anything like this, so I never knew this world existed until five years ago. Since then, we’ve immersed ourselves in it with our daughter, and now, our son.
Maybe the reason I love it the most is I get to see our children express themselves in ways that I don’t usually get to witness. Expressions on their faces appear on stage that are foreign to me. Unique “looks” they give surprise me and cause me to smile. Ali mastered these expressions, and her brother has followed in her footsteps. I get to see the same young man (who people say looks a lot like his mom) who lives, breathes, sleeps soccer, also be passionate about singing and dancing on stage. I love that… and I love that I have a well-rounded son!
But back to Saturday…
Zach and our school’s show choir performed well. I was pretty proud of our son, and of all of his fellow show choir members. This year’s show is the story of Dick Tracy. I find this funny, because most of these high school kids had no idea who Dick Tracy was before preparing for this year’s show. 🙂 I would describe this show as a 22ish minute theatrical musical. These students sing, dance, and act–all at the same time–to tell the story. Their style is different than most schools. I may be a little biased, but the entire performance is pretty amazing. I understand one of the judges this weekend told the kids something like, “What you are doing is what you’d see in a Broadway musical.”
To make a long story a little shorter, Zach and his show choir performed well enough in the afternoon (tied for 1st place but received 2nd due to a tie breaker) to make it into the evening finals. They performed again (at 9:30 that night) to be judged again for the championship. Results were announced at 11pm. And when the announcement was made that our show choir was named GRAND CHAMPIONS of this competition, time seemed to freeze for me. That very moment I wanted to remember forever!
Nothing around me froze, however, as mayhem seemed to unfold. I remember jumping to my feet and screaming in amazement. I looked back at where our show choir group was sitting, and they were all in motion, storming the stage. I couldn’t find Zach for the life of me. The students were screaming, crying, some had their hands raised, as others were holding their hands to their chest. This moment was one that only a handful of them had ever experienced…being named Grand Champions. They surrounded the trophy on stage that stood taller than them all. In the frenzy, I snapped as many photos as I could.
It was such a precious moment for me as Zach’s mom. It was an even more incredible moment for my son. The hard work, the hours of dedication, the sacrifices, the challenges, all paid off for these kids. It was a victory for them, and it was a victory for the school. It was a victory for the parents, a victory for anyone having anything to do with the program, and especially one for the dads who built the massive set and props.
But the moment that I believe I’ll remember even longer, is the moment when Zach’s eyes met mine back near their “homeroom” after it was all over. It brings tears to my eyes still now. When he saw me, he pushed himself through the crowd to get to me, and once he did, he threw his arms around me and gave me the biggest hug. Let me tell you, that was the moment that I want to remember forever.
As he was hugging me, I couldn’t help but tell him how proud of him I was, how well he performed, and how deserving they were of this title. I couldn’t have been any more proud of my son at that moment.
We have two more competitions this season. If they perform like they did Saturday, they might just have another experience like this one. Good times and great memories… all in the world of show choir!
Nice job, The Ambassadors!
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