Teya wanted to sing a solo in her school's spring choral concert more than anything. She practiced and practiced, belting the songs out every chance she could get. She has a decent voice, can hold a tune, and is super confident speaking and singing in front of people so I thought she had a pretty good chance. The day of auditions came with 4 solos up for grabs. She tried out for each one, but came home broken hearted when she didn't get any of them. It broke my heart too to see her so dejected. I wanted to tell her that the teacher made a mistake, that she picked the wrong kids, that she was missing out big time by not picking Teya!
Instead I said, "You know what? Once I tried out for a play in high school. I really really wanted the lead, and I was sure I would get it. I thought I had an awesome audition but when the cast list went up, I didn't get the part. I was so sad I didn't make it after trying so hard that you know what I did? I ran out of the school and hid behind a bush and cried and cried! It's okay to cry when you feel disappointed, especially when you worked really hard for something and it didn't work out. But the next day I went back to school and I congratulated the girl who got the part, and then I went to play practice and put my whole heart into the part I DID get, even though it was small, I still decided to do my best, and I still had a ton of fun being in that play even though I didn't get the part I wanted."
Teya sat and thought for awhile about my story, then she wiped her eyes and said, "you know what mom, I'm going to do my best too, even though I didn't get a solo. I'm still going to sing my very best and I'm still going to have fun!"
(can't tell you how proud I felt of her in that moment :)
Teya was good for her word and on the night of the concert, she sang her little heart out and had a blast!
The concert was for all the 1st and second graders. They had hand actions and even wore sunglasses for one song. It was incredibly adorable.
The theme was "The Sound of Color" Love their little tie dye shirts.
Rocking the hand motions.
Such a cutie
The whole family came to support our little songbird.
Of course Cam got bored after the first 3 seconds so Taber spent the majority of the concert wrangling Mr. busypants.
Towards the end we finally gave in and gave him an iPhone
And after that, the iPhone did not leave his hands.
Not even to take a sibling pic. Little stinker.
Brinley was super proud of her big sissy and can't wait till she gets to sing in the kindergarten concert next year.
Teya and Mrs. H, her awesome 1st grade teacher.
It was a great concert, and a great learning experience for Teya. Proud of her for doing her best and making the most of it. She really is such a good kid :)
3 comments:
i love how you handled that and turned it into a teaching moment! you are such an amazing mom :)
Thank you for teaching her how to lose gracefully. It's so hard not to 'rescue' our kids, but you can be proud you are an awesome mom!!
Teya is such a sweet girl. I remember her always being sweet but was reminded again when we got to see you guys. She has a beautiful voice, too. I am sure she has lots of solos ahead of her in her lifetime!
And to add to the rejection list, I tried out for cheerleading my sophomore year of high school (and cheerleading at my school was actually not very cool). I didn't make the team, and felt like a total dork, since it wasn't that cool anyway, but it was something I really wanted to do. Anyway, I decided a couple years later to try out for the high school dance team, and continued through college!
You are a great mom for teaching her how to not blame others, and to just do your best anyway. I could learn from that as well. :)
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