The Lorax

Oh my goodness, I remember being a kid and being in little plays at school. Most notably was one in 6th grade where I was the wife of the lion king and I had to get mad at him about something or another. That's about all I can remember about the play other than I wore my favorite (ever) Easter dress. Tonight, I got to sit on the other end and watch the joy unfold on the faces of little people.

Aeryn's school is rather unique in that they have a homeroom class for language arts, then they do project classes that mix students and teachers of various grades as well as have a community time which is also inter-grade. Aeryn has learned about mythology, built rockets, learned about rumba music and dance, written poetry, and many other things in the project class time. It's really a neat way for the teachers to explore something they have a personal connection to and may not have a lot of time to dedicate to in class. The kids get exposure to a wide range of people and experiences, and frankly it's a lot of fun.

Her current project class has been putting together a play of Dr. Seuss's The Lorax and tonight was their performance.

She has been a bit spazzy due to the excitement of it.  I can't say I blame her, but I do think when I got upset this afternoon because she was stuffing clean clothes under the bed instead of putting them on hangars it all went in one ear and out the other because she was so preoccupied.

She got to be a Barbaloot. They crawled around the Truffula Tree forest eating fruit from the trees. Until the trees were chopped down, of course, and then all the Barbaloots got to become Thneed knitters.

She painted the mask this afternoon and we dried it in the oven so she could wear it tonight. She is also wearing a maternity dress a friend gave me because we didn't have any other brown clothes. She didn't care at all... when I finally told her (after the play) that it was a pregnant-lady-dress, she got far more excited than I care to remember. It reminded me of earlier today when I allowed myself to look through the drawers of my non-maternity clothes and I was beyond excited about how cute they are. It's funny how not wearing things for 6 months has made them all so much more appealing.

Throughout the play she had a big smile on her face. It was great to see her so happy! I've wondered if theater might be something she pursues in middle and high school and even though there is no way to tell at this point, it sure looked like she was having an amazing time. The fact that she asked at least two dozen times afterward "was it awesome, mom?" just confirms that.

I love this motherhood thing. I know that being a parent isn't for everyone and not all parents are as sappy as I am, but goodness gracious this is so awesomely rewarding.