Girly likes to sing.  Lots of kids like to sing.  Girly really just likes to sing to herself because she’s very shy and this shyness manifests in countless ways.  Not horribly abnormal although it’s rather severe.

So we were rather surprised when she decided she wanted to be in the choir like her brother

Well, audition season was over… or so I thought.  While I was attending a meeting for rehearsal parents, I was informed that in fact, it was NOT too late.  All I could think was “here’s another tuition I have no accounted for”… for CHOIR.  SERIOUSLY???  The choir she would be placed into met on a soccer day and there would be 30 minutes between choir ending and soccer practice beginning.  They’re not far apart but hello?  Dinner??  Dinner in a car.  That’s what I’m seeing here.

Needless to say, Girly seemed very committed to being in choir.  This went on for 2 weeks or more–asking about when she could go, what she would sing, would she be on a stage… the desire was clear and strong and not going away.  FORTHELOVE, PEOPLE!!!

Well, she went to audition and she was the youngest one in her group.  I was rather stunned at how focused and well-behaved she was.  I mean, it’s not horribly surprising when she’s really into something, but we’d asked her for a year if she was interested in choir and it was always an adamant “No”.  This was not the same child.

I was equally surprised at how well she carried a note and how precisely she mimicked the patterns given to her.  She wasn’t perfect, but wow–she was way better than I imagined.  Most of all, I was shocked that she did the individual portions without hesitation.  There were four other girls, the instructor, me, four other parents and an administrator for the program–all in the room there listening to her.  Mostly strangers.  Zero hesitation.  No quivering in her voice, no shyness.

*insert my blank, stunned stare here*

So, she made it into the organization’s very beginner choir.  This left her with lots MORE questions… would she get to do shows like her brother?  Would she travel?  We talked about the progression of girls in choirs and how it can be competitive.  The highest choir for girls in this organization is the Chamber choir and I stressed to her how hard those girls work.  She promptly declared “I’m going to be in CHAMBER!”

Of course, seeing her like this made me imagine her future… up on a stage, singing with a stunning voice and running off to play a soccer game… and just… HAPPY.

So… choir… and soccer.

And art.

And birds.