My recent Mother’s Day weekend was fairly low-key and really centered more around the grandkids than anyone else. Any mother can tell you, though, that from the first moment your child enters the world, that’s pretty much the way it is from then on: Your world shifts focus to them, regardless of what the calendar says. And that’s not to say I didn’t spend the weekend the way I wanted to. Indeed, I also have fun when the young ones are around.

We started off the weekend on Friday evening celebrating my older grandson’s 10th birthday with a family dinner at Sean’s favorite sushi place followed by cake and presents at home. I am just delighted at the fact that he has such eclectic food preferences and equally delighted that he still gives me a hug whenever he sees me (even in front of his buddies!). Of course, he always has to check his height against mine, eager to see how much taller he is than the last time he checked (even if it’s only been a week).

On Saturday we attended younger grandson James’s coach-pitched Little League game. This was an hour of watching these little guys swinging mightily at the plate and then skipping, hopping and sometimes running to first base. In the outfield, they’re more likely to catch a bug than a ball,

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but they sure have a good time. That evening we joined our friends and neighbors in watching their talented granddaughter perform in a middle school musical production of Disney’s Descendants. I was unaware of the series of movies on which this play is based, but the descendants of the title refer to the offspring of the princes and princesses and the villains of several Disney fairy tales.

I have to say that I had modest expectations for the quality of the show, but I was quite impressed with the ambition and scope of the performance, staged at the high school’s beautiful auditorium.

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I think the large group of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders sang, danced and acted to match what most high school thespians could muster, and they were certainly enthusiastic. It’s a tricky age, especially for the boys who are navigating voice changes, so not every singer could hit all the notes and really belt out a song, but a number of the female leads (including our friends’ granddaughter) truly did a great job, and most of the main performers really showed a development of character.

The teacher-director and -choreographer were very ambitious in staging complex numbers with a large chorus, and the kids literally really stepped up and knew their moves. Plenty of attention was given to the sets, costumes and makeup, too, the result being a very entertaining, full-length musical. At this time when so many districts across the country are dealing with budget constraints and are cutting extracurriculars such as art, theater and music programs, it was delightful to see our local schools are still encouraging the arts. This is a great time of year to see what your local schools are doing in this regard, as most will be staging spring concerts and performances,

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and I would urge you to support those programs with your attendance.

Sunday turned out to be the only day my daughter was able to book for Sean’s birthday party with friends, but it proved a fun way to spend the afternoon. We gathered at a local bowling alley where Sean and about eight of his friends (along with some of their siblings and parents) had a great time bowling,

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playing arcade games, and eating pizza and cake. I really enjoyed watching their interactions and their pure joy when they got a strike or a spare. It’s such a fun age, too, when they are starting to really develop their senses of humor and personalities, but haven’t gotten too self-conscious or serious about their social status yet.

We rounded out our weekend with a video call that evening with friends, and that was really my Mother’s Day gift to myself. We began laying the groundwork for our next big overseas trip . . . more on that to come!

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor