Tuesday 21 October 2008

Another Harvest Festival


You never know what you got til it's gone.

Lat year I hadn't fully appreciated that children didn't participate in a Harvest Festival after Year 2 so I didn't fully appreciate that it was Sebastian's final performance at the same time as it was Abigail's first. Maybe I should have videod that one. Oh well, that poignant moment is well gone.

This year we got to watch Abigail in all her glory and she performed very well. She sang all about the magic penny (give it away and you have more) and recited a poem about the role of the farmers (very important person if you want to eat). She stood perfectly and didn't even wave. She even cast me a disapproving glare when I blew her a kiss making it very apparent that such public displays of affection would not be reciprocated when she was on stage and in character.

At the end the chaplain led a very moving prayer about how lucky we are to have food on the table and live in a country where there are no wars being fought in our streets or in our fields. How lucky we are to have access to clean water and state of the art medical care. And how lucky we are to attend some of the best educational institutions in the world.

I'm not sure Abigail understands everything she has to be grateful for. I think she was grateful that she had a mother and father who didn't embarrass her. I was grateful she still has a few more years to perform in a Harvest Festival.

7 comments:

Sue said...

You are very lucky to be able to have prayer in your schools. A few years back a couple sued the school and the speaker at the high school graduation. They said he violated their civil rights by READING the Lord's prayer. He didn't even say "Let us pray." I don't remember the outcome. I think maybe it was resolved out of court.

Marla said...

I wished I could have video taped some of my kids programs when they were young. You will have the memories, that is as long as you can remember!

LaDawn said...

This isn't luck but a conscious decision. We pay for that privilege. My children attend a private Church of England School. If the taxpayers were paying for their education I wouldn't expect and would indeed be outraged if they were praying in the school.

Janell said...

I don't mean to be stupid, but why would pay for the privilege of prayer in school, but be outraged if you were getting it for free?

LaDawn said...

Because I do not expect all taxpayers to share my religious beliefs.

Janell said...

Okay, but some taxpayers are praying people. Why is it outrageous that they be represented in a school ir elsewhere?

LaDawn said...

Some but not all and certainly not all praying people pray the same way. Publicly funded schools are for educational purposes ONLY not religious. I go with the elsewhere - church, synagogue, mosque, temple.