In 2020, I told each of my children's birth story in the month of his or her birth. Here they are, in case you missed any: Luke, Shulamith, Isaiah, Eli, Seth.
This year, instead of birth stories, I think I'll share a favorite childhood memory for each of them. Saturday was Eli's birthday, so he's up first.
At age 6, Eli made his theatre debut, as a tarantula in the Missoula Children's Theatre (MCT) production of The Wizard of Oz. I realize there are no tarantulas in Oz, but in this spinoff production, there definitely were. Little Mountain Elementary School sponsored MCT each year, a fabulous weeklong program, where two actors show up in a van with costumes, sets, and props, and produce a full-length musical in one week, using children from the school.
Sound wild? It was!
Isaiah had participated for a couple years, but this was Eli's first time. It was the year 2000, and he was in 1st grade. I was pregnant with Seth, and very tired, so my friend Joanne took both Eli and Isaiah to the auditions, along with her daughter, Amy. I remember waking up from a much-needed nap to Eli running into my room with news that he would be a tarantula! Joanne and Amy followed, with big smiles all around.
Eli attended the rehearsals every day after school, and soon it was Saturday, the day of the performance. He was beyond excited. There were probably a dozen little tarantulas in a row up there on the stage, drowning in black fuzzy spider costumes, but it was Eli, right in the middle, with his round face and giant smile that melted the audience's hearts.
And mine.
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