After sharing my last post, I decided that I shall stick with first person present tense for my memoir writing. The feedback I got was that present tense was the best choice. Now that I’ve been attempting to write in it for awhile now, my brain is becoming more used to it. It’s getting easier.

Here’s another snippet I’ve been working on and fine-tuning.

The director straightens my robe and the red tie around my neck. It’s choking me a little, and I fidget, trying in vain to loosen it. The other 15 children with me are even wigglier, as I stand quietly and obediently, awaiting instruction. The frazzled choir director lines us up, pleading with us to stay still and in our places. She is mostly successful, as only the most rowdy children begin to move again. Although we are only vaguely aware of what we are about to do, we sense that it is important. And big.

We parade out of the back room and onto the stage. I can hear people clapping and “Awwwws” throughout the crowd. We line up in three rows and our director shuffles the stragglers back into place. She takes her place in front of the choir, and with a big grin on her face, reminds us with her hand motions to keep our eyes on her. The piano plays the intro, and we launch into the song that we have rehearsed over and over for months.

Standing next to the lit up Christmas tree filled with white crocheted angel ornaments, we sing Away in a Manger in our sweet little off key voices. I am not scared standing in front of so many people. I feel safe buried amongst all the other children. We sing loud, miss a few cues, smile our cute toothy grins, and the boy next to me waves to mom. The people applaud loudly when we finish.

I don’t know it yet, but this music and worship thing is going to become a big part of my life.

Did you know that “wigglier” is a word? I thought it was “more wiggly” and Word corrected it to “wigglier.” Say that five times fast.

The “frazzled choir director” comes not from this specific memory but from my time as a children’s choir director. Just speculation that this director probably felt like I did right before a performance. 🙂