I wrote this post last night, but didn’t have the time or energy to look it over or run a spell check ’til now.
I over did it. We had chorus rehearsal yesterday. This morning, I practiced singing on the way to and from the Girls On the Run 5K in the car(50 minutes each way). Then we had rehearsal again today before the concert. But the thing I believe really did me in? I whooped and hooted too long and hard for all the girls at the race. How could I not?
So….the concert was going along nicely, and then two songs before my solo, my voice went all Froggy went a courtin’ with a two pack a day habit. I even had to lip synch for a song, which isn’t good, when your solo is barreling down on you like a locomotive.
I whispered to Melody at my right, “My voice is gone.”
Did Melody say, “Sure, no problem. I’ll step in and do your solo?”
She did not.
She slipped me a tic-tac.
I put it in my mouth and crunched it to bits, because I seriously had about 20 seconds, and I didn’t want to inhale it while I sang.
When it was time, I stepped down to the front, and my voice was there!
But then it left me for a second.
And then it was back!
So it wasn’t 100% suckage.
But it wasn’t perfect.
I was brave. And the point is to be brave.
So I’ll try not to cringe, and I’ll try to remember the whole “learning is a process and you don’t have to be perfect” thing we tell Riley all the time.
Windsong is a supportive bunch. So many people told me I did a good job. They didn’t say, “Good try.” They said, “Good job.”
Todd said it was good, but he doesn’t know.
Riley was brutally honest,
“Except for that one second, it was great. I think your timing was just a tiny bit off, but you got all the notes. It was good you did it Mom.”
Seth apparently daydreamed through the whole thing, because he asked afterward,
“Why didn’t you do your solo?”
Seriously dude, I was two feet in front of him. And I was projecting! What stage presence I must possess!
Oh, well.
It could have been a lot worse.
I could have choked on a tic-tac.
I could have lost my voice completely.
Or fainted.
Or died.
Or not been brave at all.
awesome! congrats on being brave! i was brave this weekend too (i got up in front of a small group of women and tried teaching an exercise class in which i’d only ever participated as a student) and…what an amazing feeling to face down the fear! as my sister used to say when she got back from australia “good on ya!”
You are my human, and if you ask me (and that just goes without saying that you do), you have showed Riley PROOF that you don’t have to be perfect, and you will be FINE! You did her a great service! You can preach that all the time, but the girl needs to be shown and not told!
IMHO.
Love.
See, it turned out exactly as it was supposed t after all. You were brave and willing. You went on in spite of not feeling perfect. What great lessons for everyone. And Todd? He does TOO know. He may not have a musically trained ear (I don’t know) but I guarantee he was listening with his heart…and you were brilliant. 🙂
I am so glad you didn’t choke, lose your voice completely, faint, die or not be brave.
You could have ~but you didn’t~ and I am glad. 🙂
Ditto Carrie.
Yay! It went well in spite of the challenges! And I’m really glad you didn’t choke on the Tic-Tac. I’ve totally done that before.
P.S. Still laughing over what Seth said!
Wonderful. I would rather listen to amateur music performed as well as the players can, putting all their heart into it, than to a slick production with lip-syncing artists any day. There’s something raw and lovely and human and deeply musical about a performance by real people who do it with love.
Plus, you made me laugh.
You have tremendous stage presence in the Theater of Life. I know that your voice is strong and beautiful on that stage, and I’m guessing it’s just as lovely on the smaller stage.
Brave is never “pitchy.”
Congratulations! It couldn’t have been easy, but the courage you showed your kids has GOT to be worth every terrifying second. 🙂
Congrats! So glad you lived to tell the tale!
Good on ya indeed!!
Btw, BBC has had a “Autism” season and if you can you should watch “Autistic Superstars” on BBC iPlayer – it’s priceless!!
So happy for you. A complete success. Laughing at Seth’s response.
You rock! I love that everyone has a slightly different take on it – Riley’s as a performer herself, HT’s as your supportive partner, and Seth’s as a burgeoning obtuse male whose opinion of you didn’t hinge on your solo at all.