This morning I gave a performance. After a 16 year hiatus, I broke out my flute and showed off my skills in front of a group. Well, a group of three year olds, but a group nonetheless. My son’s preschool is in the middle of Music Week, and this year they called for parent volunteers to come in and show different instruments to the kids. My husband, a trombonist, volunteered right away. Last week I asked the teacher if I should send my old flute along, too. She perked up at that, asked if I could get a sound out of it, and the next thing I knew I was at home digging out sheet music. Once I was in with the class, it went very well and the kids were all impressed (like I said, they’re three) and I really enjoyed it. It got me thinking about all the things parents do for their children that, given the choice, we might not chose to do ourselves. You know what I mean- the late nights we spend stringing up planets, the costumes we make, the last minute baked goods we produce because our kids volunteer us, the effort we give to getting the birthday cake just right- all those times when Mom and Dad go to (perhaps unnecessarily) great lengths to help out.

Now that my flute performance is behind me, I get to focus on my next project. Next week at my daughter’s school all the kids are supposed to dress as a favorite story book character. I would guess most of the kids have chosen a human character, but not my girl; I’m going to spend the weekend turning a sweatshirt and tube socks into Charlotte the spider! I probably could have talked her into Fancy Nancy or something a little easier, but darn it, she loves Charlotte! So I get to warm up the old sewing machine and get busy.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s usually worth all the effort. (Although one time I did spend a lot of time turning old sheer curtains into a princess dress-up skirt for my daughter, only to never see it again.) And it’s fun to break out some old skills, perhaps skills my children didn’t know I had, and show them off a bit. They won’t always be so easy to impress. But what about you? What are your stories? What’s the most ridiculously involved project you’ve done for your kids? And did they love your efforts or was it all for naught (ever made absolutely beautiful cupcakes only to have the kids call them “yucky?”) Leave a comment!