Another Funny (translated:ODD) Week as a Kindergarten Parent

Two weeks ago Ike did his first oral presentation to the Kindergarten classes and the parents who came to "Cultural Heritage Week".  Last week he had a "lead" role in his class play "Horton Hatches an Egg".
He played Maize, the lazy bird who didn't want to sit on her egg, and instead, convinced Horton the Elephant to sit on the egg for her so that she could vacation in Florida.


Several thoughts occur to me regarding this:

*In Kindergarten, I memorized the pledge of allegiance, learned to tell left from right (mostly), learned to color and count, and some other basics that I vaguely remember about being a 4/5 year old.  I'm pretty sure I didn't memorize a 12 minute long play, nor give an oral presentation.  In fact, I'm feeling both a little jealous and a little relieved about that even now...

*Ike's teacher is a funny woman.  She will definitely have a hard time figuring out Ike's parents.  Really, I think we are an odd pair in her world or she and I just have some different assumptions about the world.  Example:  After the play was over Miss A. sidled over to me and in a hushed voice said that she was worried Scott and I might be upset about Ike playing a "girl's part" in the play.  She then explained apologetically that he was the only one willing to play Maize, none of the girls would play her and he really seemed to want to... so, she hoped Scott and I weren't upset.  This caused me to give a "Courtney-esque" out-loud cackle of a laugh.  I'm hoping I said something appropriate after I laughed, but I'm not sure that I did.
Seriously.  Playing a "girl part" is not a concern for us.  Not even a little.  And we have lots of things to be concerned about for Ike: his short attention span and the trouble it gets him into in school, his offbeat sense of humor, what jr high will be like for him (and us), getting him to occasionally eat a protein at dinner and to go to bed on time once in a while...  These are things I am concerned about.  But playing a "girl" part.  Why would I be worried about that?  And I just gotta say that IF I thought it would turn him gay (I assume this is what the parents who would be concerned are worried about??),  well IF I thought it would turn him gay-- then we'd enroll him in a girl's parts only theatre group!   I didn't tell her this because I didn't want to scare her (yet).  But if I were to explain our thoughts on this I would tell her how very much I'd love our son to turn out like any one of the FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC gay men I work with and count as friends... Mark, Cody, Kendal, David, and the list of amazingly strong and gifted gay men in my world goes on--- but--sadly---playing a girl bird in a play WON'T turn him gay... really.
And again, let me add that playing a "girl" part or a "boy" part doesn't matter to Scott and I nearly as much as the amount of homework we have to do with him due to the number of public speaking engagements this 6-year-old has had at school these last two weeks.  Sheesh!  And let's face it-- whatever part he plays, he will love it, especially if he gets to wear a multi-colored feather boa--and we will love to watch him because he's ours.


*Finally-- I think that Maize bird the lazy bird was onto something.
Flying off to Florida and letting someone else do the work and then also get the credit, well, that doesn't sound so bad to me...
yeah, I know, in the end when the egg hatches, it looks like an elephant-bird, and I guess that Horton has to, is forced to, gets to keep it... but I'm not sure Maize wasn't getting the better end of the deal.

I am not talking about my kids here- I sat on those eggs and hatched them myself (with a little help from my friends) and wouldn't trade them NOR the work and growth I experienced during those pregnancies for anything-----but I am thinking about my actual work.  I think I can honestly say-- I'm almost ready to give up my work, even though I know that this will mean some serious loss.  I think I am getting ready to bless someone else with the joy of this ministry and all of the amazing opportunities it affords.  It's like- reverse nesting... I'm dismantling my own nest and hoping to make the pieces available for the next bird if they want any of them.
Soon- someone else will nurture what was a bird into an elephant-bird and it will be something wholly new and exciting-- with a bit of what WAS in it, and a bit of something completely NEW!  That's exciting.
And, i really am ready to fly off to palm beach!!!

Maize-- pour us some Daiquiri's honey... In July- I'm headed your way....