The Nut Has Been Cracked

The 6th grade class took a field trip to see the Nutcracker in Pittsburgh. It was a special matinee performance for the school kids. Micah is in 6th grade, and was invited to go, of course. His teacher sent home the permission slip, on which I wrote an extensive note about how Micah gets freaked out by productions, and it would not be in his best interest to go, and he would waste the PTO's money as well as ruin it for whoever had to sit with him in the restroom the whole time because that's where he goes to hide from things like this. The note I got in reply was, "call me."

So I stopped in at the school, because sometimes talking in person is the very best way to handle things.

And I launched, again, into how he hates productions. I cited the Veggie Tales concert we spent good money on, only to have Micah sit in the bathroom 3/4 of the time. The other 1/4 was spent between dragging him (literally) to the door so that I could at least hear the concert and then actually loving every second of it from the very back row with his back up against the wall. (That was the last 5 minutes.) I cited Disney, and all the shows we tried watching there. Sam and the kids enjoyed so many, while Micah and I sat for 5 minutes, Micah realized the show started and made a hasty exit, complete with much panic.

The teacher said that Micah loves music and he loves dancing, and he would LOVE the Nutcracker. But she wasn't telling me anything I didn't already know. I said it made no sense, at all, but that's the way it was. Common sense says he'd love it, but experience tells me otherwise.

The teacher begged. I waffled. She pleaded. I considered. She asked for just a chance to see if, perhaps, he's matured a bit more and could actually enjoy the show. I gave in, with stipulations. MANY stipulations.

1. If Micah wants to leave, he leaves.
2. His aide will also have to be willing to miss the entire show, obviously.
3. If he wants to spend the entire time in the restroom, that is going to have to be okay.
4. Don't force him to stay if he wants to leave.
5. Take an extra pair of clothes, because actual soiling has occurred in the past because of the panic.
6. If Micah wants to leave, he leaves.
7. Don't force him to stay if he wants to leave.

Did we cover the fact that if Micah is freaked out, nobody makes him stay? Nobody gets angry at him for reacting to a phobia? Patience is required by all? Was it covered sufficiently?

The teacher was thrilled, I was apprehensive, and Micah was clueless. The night before the show, I told Micah that he was going to go to school, go on a long bus ride and then watch a song and dance, and then take a long bus ride back to the school. He fussed and said NO about thirty dozen times, and then it was time for bed. You can guess that my level of thrill wasn't very high the next morning. I spent the day praying that things would go far smoother than I feared they may, and waited.

Micah came home in a good mood, and then his aide texted. She couldn't wait to tell me how much Micah LOVED the show. She was mesmerized by watching Micah watch the show. He had such a great time, and she thanked me for letting him go. And then she sent me this picture.

You guys, this boy never ceases to amaze me. I'm thrilled that he had such a great time, and I know he did because he's been watching the Nutcracker on Netflix (or wherever the heck he finds it on his iPad) ever since.