Broadway Baby

My Dad gave Claire a new CD Player for St. Claire's Day and she has been enjoying it ever since. She especially loves listening to my Annie and Beauty and the Beast (Broadway version) Cds because you can listen to them and the songs tell a story. Well, it was late afternoon and I told the kids they needed to go to their rooms for some quiet time (aka- time when you are away from mommy so she can find some sanity). I really don't care what they do during quiet time. When they were younger, this time was called 'Nap Time'. Now that they are older and only nap every once in a while, we call it 'Quiet/Rest Time'. They can read, put together puzzles, play with their toys, listen to music . . . I don't care as long as they stay in their rooms. Well, this particular afternoon, Claire chose to listen to Beauty and the Beast.

I stayed for the first song. We heard the narrator say, "Once upon a time, in a faraway land- a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish and unkind". And so the story went. The Cd continued to play, and I left Claire to play and clean her room to the music. About an hour or so later, I went upstairs to check on the kids. Michael was playing in his room with the door open, but Claire's door was closed. I knocked, but she didn't answer. So, I slowly opened the door and there was Claire sitting on her bed. At first she didn't see me, but as soon as she did, she startled and quickly stood up. The look on her face made me think she was hiding something, so naturally I asked her, "Claire- Are you hiding something? What did you do?" She said she wasn't hiding anything but the look on her face made me suspicious. I was going to ask her a follow-up question but something on her face caught me eye. "What is on your face?" I asked. It looked like she had smeared lip gloss on her cheek. I asked her if it was lip gloss, and she said no. And then it hit me. "Where you crying?" She shook her head no. "Claire, if you were crying- you can tell me." Again, she denied it. I heard the music and song that was playing was where the Beast 'dies' and then turns back into a human. "Oh, Clairey. Were you crying because you were sad that the Beast died?" Not a moment passed before she burst into tears. Big, sobbing tears. I picked her up and sat on her bed. As beautifully as the song played, so did this picture perfect moment. Claire in my arms, soothing my baby, telling her it would be okay while the music played on. It hurt my heart that she didn't want me to know she was crying, yet longed to be comforted. I was so happy that I walked in at that moment and was able to rescue her from her sadness.

Because I am with Matthew so much of the day, I do yearn to spend alone time with my older kids. Lucky for me, when I walked in on Claire that afternoon, Matthew was fast asleep. I had plenty of time to hold her and give her the support and love she needed. It felt so good- that I too, shed a tear or two. I love that music brought Claire to tears. I love that music was able to pull emotion from her heart. I love that in the end, she wasn't afraid to show this emotion to me.

As I held her, the song wound down, her emotions winding down with it. And as I held her, we listened together as the Cd played, "Certain as the sun, Rising in the East. Tale as old as time, Song as old as rhyme, Beauty and the Beast."