After a not so pleasant Sports Day, I was a wee bit apprehensive how KT would react on the Annual Day celebration in front of an auditorium full of parents!

Her motivation sessions began a week prior to the big day. Every afternoon when she gets back from school, the following is the conversation that would repeat every single day –

“What did you do in school today?”

“Peaches danced ‘jump, shake!'”

(Although the teachers had kept the song and dance a top secret from the parents, KT let the secret out!)

“Chellam, on Saturday, Peaches should dance for ‘jump, shake’ song on stage. Peaches should smile and dance happily, okay?”

“Okay, mummy!”

“Peaches, not scared, okay?”

“Okay, mummy!”

“Peaches, no crying, okay?”

“Okay, mummy!”

The morning arrived. She had ample amount of sleep the previous night. I repeated the above conversation half a dozen times. I made sure everything went on on a happy note right from waking her up to getting her ready and making her have her breakfast. I sang every happy song I knew. With great difficulty I held on to my peace when she refused her breakfast. Her happiness was the need of the morning!

My patience was tested the most when I had to comb her hair. It was quite a battle. But I conquered!

The drive to the auditorium took forever. We literally covered the length of Hyderabad. My little performer fell asleep and I was so worried her ponytails would get messed!

After an hour and a half, we arrived at the auditorium. It was packed with more than thousand parents. I started to get nervous. I walked KT to a hall beside the stage where all the kids and the teachers had assembled. The minute KT spotted her teacher, she waved me bye and ran towards her happily. That was a good sign. I walked to my seat a little relieved!

The curtains raised after a long and anticipated wait. KT’s class was second to perform. The kids were beautifully arranged in a row. KT and another girl stood right in the center. As the lights were turned on, there was no crying (comforting)! Each looked calm and composed despite the crowd and the cheering (so far so good!). They cue the music and it’s a wrong song! The kids begin to look confused, but still no one moved!

A few seconds later, “Let’s Get the Sillies Out” gets played (the ‘jump, shake’ song according to KT). To my amazement, the performer in my little girl was unleashed and she was the only one in her class who danced to the entire song making me one proud mamma who couldn’t stop her tears of joy!

The rest of the program was superb. The kids of different classes put up such a vibrant show. The choice of dresses were excellent. It made the kids look really good on stage.

It is no joke training 2, 3 and 4 year olds to dance in front of such a large audience. Kudos to the teachers who did it and made the event a pleasure to watch!