A few weeks ago Sam casually mentioned he would be staying after school to try out for a chorus solo (and then later even more casually mentioned he got it.) My favorite part is around :53 when you can hear Maddy whisper her epiphany to me: "my brother's a stud!"*
And then! Last Friday he performed in the 8th grade graduation assembly. He had noticed while playing around on the ukelele that lots of songs fit the same chord progression so he put together a medley of lines from 18 pop songs and enlisted a few others to join in. (Ack! The memory on my phone filled up and stopped about 1/3 of the way through but you'll get the general idea; other songs included You Found Me, Let It Be, Pictures of You, She Will Be Loved, Man in the Mirror, and Someone Like You.)
Every once in a while your kids completely surprise you. I LOVE that. (Well, as long as it's a good surprise.) You think you've got them figured out, these growing people you've known since before they even drew air into their lungs. You've watched them over the years in hundreds of situations and by the time they're in their teens you're pretty sure you can predict their responses. When Sam started middle school I never would have predicted that, by the end, he would be willing to sing in front of his school (let alone help come up with the idea, help arrange practices, and freely volunteer!). He even agreed to let me post these clips! It's inspiring to watch his comfort zone grow leaps and bounds...right along with his big old 13-year-old feet.
. . .
*p.s. her consistently generous, sisterly support deserves a post of its own.
