While yesterday was laughter and wine. Today was tears and laughter!
I was also in serious Mama Bear mode… with 2 Christmas, festive, nativity plays …. and a school situation.
It was a difficult school situation ‘sandwiched’ by nativity joy and magic…
I was a proud Mama Bear, again this morning to see my little Willy Mouse come out of his shell in the school play again today.. Confident, smiling, singing all the words, gesticulating with all the right mimes… unless I looked at him….and then he became a mute statue. It’s quite tricky turning one way with your eyes looking the other way… for a full 30 minutes.
He was ace… dancing like a dude. Feet firm… body rocking. Smiling and laughing all the way.
And then I had to make a call that I didn’t really want to have to make. Unsavoury school ground behaviours, pieced together over a few weeks and a few conversations…. Finally, having gone on a little too long and going a little too far. Making my spirited, happy son, sad, timid, unenthusiastic…
Shedding a little quiet tear as the teacher recounted what had been going on, the nasty name calling, the hurting in places that shouldn’t be hurt.
As a Mama Bear, I want to run in and smother my baby. Get my claws out and be ready to protect…. Fight back. Hurt back. Growl… possibly snarl.
As a Mama Bear, I also know my baby has to fight his own battles. Learn to stand up for himself… Find the inner strength, stand up to the mean boys or turn and walk away, shrug his shoulders, show them how small they are, how insignificant. Find and hang out with the kind boys, fun boys, smart boys. Show them how insignificant they are.
As a Mama Bear… and an emotional Mama Bear at that… I know this is going to be tough. Just like it will be for all the other life battles he will face. God help me when he says he wants to go travelling… (I know what we got up to!)
And to this evening’s Mama Bear. Proud. Proud? Was I Proud? I was so proud of my gorgeous, tall, super handsome, unruly blond, seriously cool son on stage tonight… as ‘Snow’. He was the perfect centre piece to 5 other ‘Snow’ actors. Tall. Right at the front. Right in the middle. In his cricket whites and dirty white football boots. With a large sparkly star on his chest. Singing Frozen.
Well… the 5 other ‘Snow’ actors sang Frozen, along with the rest of the year. Tom. Tom did not. Tom moved his mouth like a gold fish, his mimes and movements several seconds behind everyone else or just blatantly not, standing with his legs wide apart hands in his pockets. Yawning. Under the spot light.
It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. I had to bury my head in to my hanky to stop the snorting…. Tears leaking from my eyes.
It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. He may has well have just put two fingers up… ‘I do sport’. ‘I don’t do acting’. ‘I don’t do singing’. ‘I do sport.’
It was the funniest thing I have ever seen.
It cheered me up no end.
Brilliant.
Couldn’t have 2 more different sons…
I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Proud Mama Bear.
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