Advent Longing

As I watched the Sunday School children “singing” “Go Tell It On the Mountain” through sign language I was remembering such moments when my own children and grandchildren participated. I remember sitting in the audience in Hyde Park and craning my neck to see my granddaughter Ruth as she emerged onto the stage with other “Chinese” dancers for her moment in Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker.” My joyful expectation was met with her radiant smile, the confident movement of her lithe body in the dance, her abandonment to the music. As she made her triumphal exit she craned her own neck to see who was with her and our eyes met. She rewarded me with a smile for the ages.