Metamorphosis

April 9th was the Spaghetti Supper -- a long standing tradition in Shutesbury where the sixth grade class hosts the community for an evening of great food, conversation and music. In the recent eons, the PTO has dovetailed their auction activity to that night creating a Shutesbury synergy that is unequalled in terms of fun. The first seating for the supper begins at 5:30 p.m. Prior to that time, the adults set up the dining space and organize the kitchen in preparation for the 500 diners. Down the hall in the sixth grade classroom, the rookie waiters and waitresses receive final instructions, take numerous group pictures and the young men are duly decked out in flowing mustaches, goatees, and Van Dyke beards just to complete the ambiance of a first class restaurant. No metamorphosis yet -- sorry. The young wait staff are usually pretty quiet as they walk down the hall towards the gym turned restaurant -- a bit nervous, definitely excited and kind of tense -- a myriad of what-if disasters wrecking havoc on their pre-adolescent minds. And then it happens ..... just like that, the first customers enter, the first foray into the world of being a waiter/waitress, the breaking of the ice of a world of work that is beyond household chores --- and the metamorphosis. They all change that night-- you see a confidence emerge that was hidden behind a cloud of doubt. You see a level of maturity and dedication to the task that had previously been buried under a landslide of rocks that spelled out the words -- Grow up already! They help each other, rediscover manners and politeness that have atrophied during the charge into adolescent. As individuals and as a group they take flight that night --- it is a sight to behold and brings great joy and pride to the admiring group of adults who stand by watching and smiling. It is always a very good night.