March To A Different Beat

On Thursday night of Vacation Bible School our church held a family night for the children and their families. Shawn and I only heard there was going to be ice cream sundaes. So when we arrived I heard someone on the microphone announcing for 3 year olds on up to late elementary to come up on stage to sing some songs they had practiced. I couldn’t believe it…….Cody’s first stage performance and I had no camera with me! I was a little unsure how Cody would feel to get up on stage in front of so many people, so I saw his friend Noah in the second row and planted Cody right in front of him in the first row near the end. Noah and Cody exchanged a few silly words, and soon the music started. All of the older children were singing and doing the motions, but Cody and a few other younger children stood frozen. Shawn leaned over and asked me if Cody’s class had even practiced the songs since Cody didn’t seem familiar with them. I just shrugged. A few seconds later Cody looked back at Noah who was trying to do the motions, and then he got a big grin on his face. All of a sudden Cody broke into his own LIVELY dance routine right there in the very front row! I was completely shocked and began laughing until my cheeks hurt! Soon a woman in the front row burst into laughter and turned around to announce to another lady, “Do you see the little boy in the front row?!” She thought it was so adorable. Cody would go from disco finger pointing moves to what appeared like break dancing moves closer to the floor. He had a favorite move which involved standing on one leg while shaking the other one! His Sunday school teacher was sitting beside Shawn and leaned over to tell us she didn’t know Cody had it in him. She said he doesn’t do that in class and that he should get on stage more often. I couldn’t remember the last time I had laughed and enjoyed myself as much as that night, pure entertainment!! I soon began to grow a little nervous, though, as Cody began to add some drama into his dance routine. I could hear him saying to several other children, “Hey, where are those lights coming from? Oh, they’re up there (looking up at the balcony). Let’s reach them. Oh! They’re too high….Let’s just dance!” Then he broke out into more dancing moves! I was so happy toward the very end to see a lady sitting on her knees behind the children on stage, just in case Cody began to wander out into the middle of the platform. I really didn’t know where his heart was going to lead him that evening which is what Shawn pointed out to me later……..Cody didn’t do any of that to show off that evening (that is definitely not him). But he heard the music and was just enjoying himself, living in the moment. I may not have had my camera with me that evening, but I will always hold the precious image of Cody dancing his little heart out in front of so many people in my memory. I almost didn’t even make it that evening due to another prior obligation. I am just so grateful I was able to be there and experience that night with my son. A few thoughts……..the morning before that evening I remembered thinking about in our youth how easy it is to laugh and not be able to control it. I can remember sitting in doctors’ offices when I was a child and waiting so long the older patients would fall asleep and begin making some horrible snorting noises from their noses for everyone in the cramped office to listen to amidst the silence. I remember not having the maturity to hold the laughter in that those awkward moments created. We lose a little bit of that fun humor when we get older……..Thank you, Cody, for the laughter and joy you spread to our household. You truly danced to your own beat that night. Thank you for such a fun evening!