#choirmom

Sometimes I see parents huddled on the sidelines of a soccer field on a blustery Saturday morning and I think, "Oh, thank God my kid doesn't play soccer." My girl doesn't play soccer or volleyball or basketball. Nope. She sings. And sings and sings and sings.  She sings so long in the shower that she sets off the smoke alarms with the volume of steam cascading out of the bathroom.

Lately, I feel like I spend all of my time driving her to rehearsals, driving her to performances, keeping track of rehearsal/performance schedules, and making sure she's wearing the right stuff to the right performance. She's in two choirs - a girls' touring choir (representing our city) and a show choir at school. For the past six weeks, the show choir has been rehearsing four days a week. Fortunately, the touring choir only rehearses on Sundays, but the duration will increase a bit as we get closer to the big concert in December.  My mom is flying in for that show - she is going to bawl her ever-loving eyes out when she hears these girls sing.

Earlier this week, we attended performances for both choirs. On Monday night, she participated in a women's choral festival. Six or seven choirs performed, most of which were from high schools around the state. So, needless to say, my kid was the youngest/shortest one there. See if you can spot her:

 

On Tuesday night, we attended the show choir performance at the middle school. It was combined with a jazz band concert (which was not nearly as brutal as the beginning band concerts I attended at the elementary school last year). Her dad and I sat close to the front so that we had a good view. The fun thing about show choir is that they sing and dance. The choir sang three or four songs. During one song, the choir members started whistling. Her dad and I looked at each other and laughed under our breath: our kid can't whistle. She later told us that she was instructed to fake it. She wasn't in the front this time, but it was still pretty easy to spot her.

She has a show choir field trip on Monday and she is SO excited. The choir is visiting six local elementary schools and will perform the same songs they sang at Tuesday's concert. She told me, "Mom, when we are at each school, the choir members who went to that school get to say their name at the end." She can't wait to show off at her old school. I'm picturing her proudly announcing her name at the end of the show but in her head, she will be thinking something more like, "That's what's up, bitches!"  

Next month, she's trying out for a musical at school. I don't know if she'll get a part, but if so, I'll drive to those rehearsals, too. I warned her that the big parts will probably go to eight graders, since they are more experienced. But still, I think she has as good a shot as anyone. Sometimes I do start to wonder if she will be able to pursue a career in music someday. As she develops as a singer, it's starting to feel more feasible, anyway. I would be so happy for her if she is one of those lucky souls who gets to do what she loves and make a living at it. She's asked for guitar lessons for Christmas. Who knows - maybe she'll be playing gigs at the farmers' market before we know it! 

#choirmom out.