I’ve been watching magic happen right before my eyes.

My husband, Mike, doesn’t make his living as a magician, but that doesn’t mean he gives his craft any less effort when the occasion calls for him to invest some of his time and creativity.

There are certain groups, businesses and organizations who ask him to perform for them on an annual basis. The Oglebay Mansion, for example, features his show every Christmas season.

Now, as the school year is winding down, Mike is scheduled to perform at an elementary school in West Virginia;s Northern Panhandle in the coming week. This is at least the third or fourth consecutive year that he has appeared there, and each time he tries to make the experience something new and unique for the children to enjoy. After all, some of them have seen him perform two or three times.

In order to make the experience special for them, he has been working off and on for weeks now, preparing new effects that the students have never seen, deciding whether to change the music he uses, cleaning up his props and practicing to be sure he knows exactly what to say and do.

Can you guess who his test audience is?

So, as he prepares, I have had the opportunity to watch it all unfold — and to weigh in on whether I think a particular trick is effective, what could be done to make it more so, whether he is concealing all the key elements that might give an illusion away and more.

Even though I didn’t enjoy magic before we got together, it really is fascinating to watch him as he works through this process. I have learned a lot about his craft in the 19-plus years that we have been married, so I believe I am qualified to provide useful feedback.

If you have never been to a live magic show, I recommend that you put that on your bucket list. There is nothing quite like seeing something magical happen in person — even if you happen to know how it worked.

There aren’t many people who have had more front row seats to magic shows than I have, and I feel my life has been enriched as a result.