Oh boy, that girl has been counting down the days.
(Claire was invited to come along, as was Grace, but Grace was much too busy with “senior stuff.” Missed you Grace Jam!)
It’s a rare morning when Lucy doesn’t have Alexa play the Wicked (or Hamilton) soundtracks blasting in the kitchen while we pack the lunches, sign agendas, do the dishes.
Lucy has chosen “For Good” from Wicked a couple times for our Bear Lake reunion (everyone picks their favorite song), and luckily she outlined her reasons in her journal:
I’m right there with you Lu, that is a GOOD song 🙂
We were trying too do something “Wicked-ish” in anticipation and this is what we got:
I had carefully chosen our seats. It is difficult to take Lucy’s vision into consideration. I had mulled over seat options and called the theater twice to figure out the best spot to sit. I finally settled on the front of the balcony seats, somehow hoping that would be a great vantage point to see the whole stage.
But it was a dumb decision. As walked to our seats both our hearts dropped. She wasn’t going to be able to see the action very well.
I think we both tried our best to feel good about it. You know when you can tell someone is putting their whole soul into something? That was Lucy that night. Oh she tried to enjoy it from her perch up high, but every now and again she whimpered that she just couldn’t see. She said it looked like a cartoon. My heart was churning with sadness, first of all that those eyes are not pulling their weight as we all wish they would, but also because I was kicking myself for not realizing we needed to be closer.
So I was determined to see what we could do to fix our situation. There is a long story involved in this, but bottom line is that the kindest man, noticing Lucy’s cane and my mother sorrow, told us that he would move us up to a row that no one was sitting in near the front.
This is how we felt about the second half:
Oh my goodness we were so happy. Especially during “for good” when Lucy and I caught each other’s eyes, and Claire put her arm around me.
The standing ovation was my favorite part of the night. This video only shows a little fraction of Lucy’s enthusiasm as she just clapped away, on top of the world at all that goodness she was able to witness:
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We met back up with all these wonderful friends;
Loved that Claire got to reunite with one of their big sisters who she doesn’t get to see much these days:
And as we left I just felt such a surge of love. For that play that is so good, for the hours and hours of practice and work it takes to put on something like that, for the minds that created it, for the fact that I got to be flanked by two of my girls, and that Lu got to be flanked by these, the truest of true friends.
This brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing the sweet kindness of the man who was able to help, and move you closer where Lucy could see better. It's nice to hear stories of kindness in a world with so much negativity. I'm so happy for Lucy- not only that she was able to have this experience, but that she has a mother who cares so much and loves so much. I wish every child could have a mother like that.
Ok, this made me cry a few tears. So touching and poignant. I'm so glad you got to have that experience with your sweet girls.
this video is the best thing i will ever see and have ever seen
love you lu!
this is wellesley college btw
love you Wellesley College!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
I'm crying too! Beautifully shared; you really captured the sadness, frustration, and joy!
Shawni, I think you made most of your readers cry with this one. You have such a beautiful family and a beautiful heart.
so awesome, you have beautiful family