Yup....it's on....again.....

.....We're doing it. I jumped in yesterday and now we're just in the waiting game. I bought 5 tickets to the Laurie Berkner Band concert in Washington, DC on March 6. I remember what it was like in May. I remember the screams. I remember the fights. I remember the disappointment that, despite spending so much time to get this to work, we just weren't particularly successful. But I'm still doing it again.

I know this is something Simon should enjoy. He loves music in general, and this band in particular. When we gave him the DVD for Hanukkah (Let's Hear It For The Laurie Berkner Band), the smile was literally spread from ear to ear. If his lips would have stretched far enough, it would have covered the face of the earth, he was so happy to receive this gift from us. He learns every song that they sing. He learns the "dances" on the DVDs. He sings along with every song and randomly starts singing them at his leisure. He watches YouTube videos of "Move To The Music" videos that feature them and is disappointed when a "Move to the Music" begins and it's something else.

But something happens when he sees them perform live (or any other live performance for that matter). Something snaps. I'm not sure if it's a memory of previous experiences (and we know he has a VERY LOOOOOONG memory) or if it's fear of the moment. Last time, it started when the microphone turned on and a representative of a charity thanked the audience for their many contributions. We anticipate something similar will happen this time. Consequently, I checked with the theater and they are basically relaxing all standard concert rules -- kids can stand, dance, come and go as they need. So, this time, instead of just sitting in our seats from the moment we arrive until the concert starts, we're going to get settled and someone will take Simon out until the band is ready to start playing so his first exposure to activity on the stage will be the band playing "Victor Vito" (one of Simon's favorite songs and the first song of the concert per the set list provided to me yesterday by my contact at Two Tomatoes, LLC [yes, I've already been in contact with her]).

This time, I got tickets on the aisle, and we're right on the center aisle in the balcony. I also tried to get seats as far forward as possible (per a great suggestion of someone I know and trust). I did get seats as far forward as I could, but the tickets have been on sale for quite some time, and we aren't as far forward as I had hoped. My fault -- I kept putting off getting the tickets and we are a family of 5. Getting 5 seats together, on the aisle can be a bit difficult. This was the best I could get.

So, hopefully, this time it will go smoother. We have a lot of work to do though. But we'll be able to ascertain how much growth there has been in the previous 10 months. I know he's made significant improvements. This is going to be a good measure on how this particular area has improved (positive thinking).