OLIVER

One of the real gifts for our family for 2014 was having both kids in the school's production of OLIVER!  Aubrey got cast as an orphan and Will a pickpocket (along with his plaid vest wearing side kick Evan Shuman).  Will has been taking drama class at the school and has really enjoyed what he is learning and the extraordinary gifts of a seasoned teacher and lover of the arts, Mrs. Tipton.  She put together one heck of a production with more than 140 members of an all aged cast and crew.  The children practice little by little from February through April, and then when May arrived the longer hours of dress rehearsals had them at the auditorium ~ thank God only three blocks from our house ~ many nights of the week.  Sarah and I watched our children grow in so many ways, in confidence, in poise, and in joy.  They both really liked participating in the production and being a part of the family of a dramatic event (other than most holidays in my family).  Aubrey really has a knack for singing and a rather natural stage presence.  Will excelled more so at acting and really gets in to his character.  He grew out his hair, something that was harder for his old man than for him, and he found an old pocket watch to add to his stage gadgets.  Sarah and I really enjoyed helping the kids find the various pieces to their costumes.  We plundered through thrifts shops, and she got things such as the daily coffee grounds to make the clothes look weather and worn.  I think we spent about $70 helping our kids look like 19th century street vagrants.  Well worth the investment!  It took me back to all the productions I was a part of growing up from the church to the school and community productions.  Those were really fun times.  The thing is the production of OLIVER! was so much better, and it made me so proud that they are getting to do some similiar things and have a shot at even better instruction and exposure.  I hope they will keep it up.  Aubrey is enjoying piano and guitar, but she really has the raw gifts to sing.  Will is doing guitar, a little track, golf, training a little with his football friends, and now is finding a bit of a niche with drama.  They both did really well in school--Will had all As for the year and AJ all As and Bs (one B in the first 9 weeks).  We are buffing our nails and giving thanks for so many obvious reasons.  Sarah and I got to enjoy bits of the OLIVER! story during the rehearsals, but when we saw it on opening night together and then again with my mother on Saturday night, a really powerful juxtaposition occurred to me.  Here is a story of a boy whose mother has died and he is shuffled about from the streets to the orphanage.  He grows up learning how to become a thief, and strangely he is loved by his own biological grandfather.  There is grace in the story, but the the whole plot of the story is filled with tragedy and sadness.  Those elements are juxtaposed with our children--along with many others--whose lives here at the beach have so much richness and grace, so much love, plenty of food, inclusion, opportunities to develop talent and enjoy the beauties of creation (rather than the dirty streets of a big city), and plenty of people in their cloud of witnesses who love them immensely.  It was a powerful, powerful experience, and as parents it made us step back and say a big "Wow" and a "Thank you!" all in the same breath.  Watching our children grow up is one of those things that makes my dizzy many days.  I look at how tall they are getting and how much they are learning and doing in comparison to what I got to do.  I am so incredibly impressed. I want time to stop because I want them to stay little longer.  And then we see them in OLIVER! and we see what they are capable of, what talents they are just starting to unlock, what potential, and I find myself wanting to see more, wanting to experience what else they can do.  What a wonderful season of life.  The psalms speak of a father have a full quiver with sons in his life, and I have to say that with one son and one daughter, my quiver is mighty full, and I could not ask for more.