Today I’m grateful for music in the hallway.

11.2.2022

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I was walking from the office to my classroom this afternoon. I was in a hurry, because there were approximately 4 minutes before Kindergarten lunch recess was over and about 10 things I wanted to accomplish in those 4 minutes. My mind was in overdrive, thinking about a dozen different things all at the same time. But as I approached my classroom I heard the beautiful sound of kids singing patriotic music down the hall.

I knew immediately where it was coming from and why they were singing. Our first grade classes do an annual Veterans Day performance at a nearby nursing home. The year that I was part of that 1st grade team it was one of my favorite events. With Veterans Day around the corner, they were clearly having a rehearsal for their upcoming concert.

You know that moment in the Grinch when his heart grows three sizes? Well, I wouldn’t say I’m a Grinch, but hearing the music fill the hallway today had me literally stopped in my tracks and had my heart instantaneously swollen to three times its normal size. There’s something about kids singing that gets me every time. And then throw in some patriotic lyrics and I’m a goner – instant mush pot. I did an about face and followed the music to one of the first grade classrooms. I went in and found 90 first graders standing tall and proud, belting out their perfectly memorized lyrics. I only stayed for a minute … just long enough to say a quick hello to the teachers and to tell the kids how beautiful they sounded. But that minute was one of the best minutes of my day – a little surprise moment of beauty. One that I didn’t know I needed but am so thankful I got.