I Just Follow Her Lead

This daughter of mine, she astounds me.

Three years ago for the 4th grade talent show, she chose to sing not Britney Spears or Hannah Montana, but Weird Al Yancovik’s “The Saga Begins”.  I was terrified for her – what would her peers think?  would she remember all the words?  would the audience “get” all the jokes in the lyrics?  I bumped into the music teacher at the store one evening and told him I was still trying to convince my daughter not to sing that song.  “Are you kidding?!” he gasped, “It’s the most original part of the show!  Oh, please let her do it.”

We did, and she was amazing.  She was the absolute last performance of the night.  She had no instrumental music or even a lyric sheet.  She stood up and sang the entire song into the microphone from memory, a capella.  The audience loved it, even singing along with the chorus after they caught on to the words.

This daughter of mine, she has to do it her way.  Win or lose, triumph or failure, she has to do it on her own terms.

Now in 7th grade, she plays oboe in her school’s symphonic band.  Her grade and band level qualify her to audition for Houston’s region jr high band.  She’s been working on the incredibly difficult music for the audition, looking forward to the chance to challenge herself in this way.

Yesterday her band directors decided that her time would be better spent working on some other fundamentals and recommended that she abandon her idea of auditioning for region.  They assured her that she had worked as hard as possible, but that she just wasn’t ready this year.

My daughter came home to me in tears.  She’s well aware that she’s not perfect at playing the audition piece, she’s well aware that it’s not likely she will make region band.  BUT SHE WANTS TO TRY.

After an email to her band director outlining our intention to have her continue practicing and indeed try out for region band, he called me and apologized for not taking into account my daughter’s determination in the matter.  I daresay he learned a little something today, and I appreciate his willingness to see her side of things.

This daughter of mine, she inspires me.  When others would say “nevermind,” she says, “hold on a minute!”  I have no idea how this situation will end, but whatever the result, at least my daughter had her say in the matter.

You might also enjoy these related posts from Tree, Root, and Twig:

1. Meet Tid and Bit
2. She's My Flute Hero (and You Could Be *Her* Hero!)
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