The music filling the arena was on
a loop that was attacking our eardrums with each bass thump and adolescent
screech. The earplugs I jammed into
my skull did little to shield me from the endless drone of empty lyrics; for
the first time in a while I felt old. My
mind wandered for a minute and I decided this could be a teaching moment. I looked at my baby girl, my 8 year old, who
was anxiously awaiting her very first concert with her favorite band, One
Direction. Her eyes were getting
heavy. The band was over an hour
late…did they not realize their fan base all have bed times earlier than their
showtime?
“E, did you
know one voice can change the world?”
“Huh?,”
she asked removing her own ear plugs. I
leaned in closer and said it again. She
tilted her head and said, “What do you mean?”
I tried to convince her to walk down five rows to the railing and start
chanting, “ONE DIRECTION, ONE DIRECTION, ONE DIRECTION” to override the loud
music that was clearly meant to deter this kind of rebellious behavior. She shook her head, “I can’t do that, mom.”
“Wars have
been started by less, E. You could do
it,” was my response and there we sat for another 20 minutes until Harry, Liam
and the others decided to get to work.
The
reaction of my daughter watching the concert was so fulfilling. She was happy, genuinely happy. We stood, danced, sang and cheered throughout
the show until the last song played. We
knew there would be an encore but of course, before that there would be more
waiting.
We took our seats, I was secretly
thankful for the break when E cocked her head to me and gave me a sneaky little
smirk that set off alarm bells in my head.
She had my smirk…. that was my smirk, how does one inherit a smirk? Crap.
I am in trouble. Calming myself I simply asked, “What?”
E had decided it was her turn to
try and change her world. She opened her
mouth and started chanting, “ENCORE, ENCORE, ENCORE”. I joined her and then the people behind us
joined her and a few people in front of us joined her. It was not a rousing response but she got a
few yelling with her. She leaned in,
“Mom, they are doing it! They are
following me!!! I am leading!!!” Tears filled my eyes; my smile so big it
literally hurt my face.
If I do nothing else for her as
long as she lives I am content knowing:
1) I took her to see One Direction
for her first concert
2) I was there the moment she learned
to appreciate the power of her own voice.
I pray she will always use it for good.
And also remember punctuality is a social grace that should be respected.
3) My smirk will live on; May God
help you all.
