it's so hard to be a kid

we had a party today with sabin's entire class. a chance for her to say goodbye and also the birthday party we didn't have back in january when the weather was bad. the kids are mostly 10, sabin is the youngest at 9. they're definitely 'tweens now - not teenagers yet and yet no longer kids. the dynamics are more and more marked and yet more and more subtle.

we divided them into three teams and put them through that painful moment of choosing teams (painful if you're the last one left). but even before that, the dynamics were in play. i've never really had a sense before of anyone being teased or bullied, but i saw moments of it today. one of them really surprised me, because if you look at the kids, the girl who seemed to be teased would have been the one you thought was coolest and most popular, the other one i wanted to bully a little bit myself. i had a very hard time keeping a straight face when a classmate said to him, "sorry to ask, but are you handicapped or something?" i had honestly been wondering the same thing as he repeatedly, almost obsessively, poked the fire with a stick after being asked not to by both me and his peers. it was like he went deaf a little bit.

i watched kids clown their way out of embarassing situations. i listened to the surprisingly astute observations they have. i was astonished by their humor and facility with sarcasm (they are little danish kids, after all). i was touched by their kindness to one another (it wasn't all bullying and even the bullying was mild). i wondered at their tears (my own child, whose expectations were so high, completely melted down at one point). but mostly, i was bowled over by their energy.

and grateful that i don't have to go through it all again. it's hard to be a kid. but it's joyful as well.

music for all ages

yesterday, husband's cousin, ulrik bencard, who is a musician, released his first solo album. we were invited to attend the release party, where he performed together with a band, a handful of songs from the album. i had heard his previous album, when he was part of a band called sange i stereo. he's long been playing in various jazz bands around denmark and you can hear those jazz roots in some of the songs from alarm alarm, his new album.

the best part of the release party was the wide range of ages that were present. from ulrik's mother, who is getting close to 80 to his little son who is 7-8 months old. he wasn't all that impressed when his dad started to sing and had to be taken off to a quieter place.

but the most delightful sight of all was of three little boys who stood up in the very front and danced their little hearts out with thorough enjoyment (the little blonde one is ulrik's other son). they were pretty far from me, across a dark room and in constant motion, so this is the best shot i was able to get, grainy as it is (3200 ISO). they absolutely loved the music.

the venue was a really neat old theatre, tho' the room we were in was like a downstairs living room, with mismatched chairs and heavy velvet tablecloths with lace coverings, from some old theatre production, no doubt. a very charming room, filled with people of all ages. and a very eclectic beginning of what we hope will be a successful album.

i have spent the better part of an hour, trying to find a player to embed a couple of songs here with this post, but they are all extremely NOT user-friendly or don't let me protect the music from being lifted, so i had to give up sharing some of the actual songs with you. as soon as it's available on iTunes, i'll update with a link!