I probably lingered backstage longer than I was supposed to (mostly frozen in awe at how fast my kid is growing - in so many amazing ways), but I'm so happy to have caught this moment. No adult prompted them, they just all put their hands in the middle and released with a cheer. It was the beginning of me melting into a huge pile of mush. I saw the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker on Friday and, beautiful as it was, these kids put on a better performance. Perfection just can't compete with imperfection.