............at least when it comes to handling the hurdles of Life and the roadblocks that get assembled at a moment's notice. Some things are unavoidable, some others need only be endured, and still others are thrown at one before the chance to duck arrives.
Still, I look upon those incidents as learning experiences, and at the age of 49, I think I've learned a lot. *wink* I'm open to more learning, of course, and I hope that at the end of my newest learning opportunity, I will emerge stronger and wiser. Jobs have come and gone, my husband has had to be away from home from days and weeks at a time, I've had medical "issues," and still my children have grown and thrived, as have my husband and I. We are a family who loves fiercely, laughs frequently, and stands by each other through all challenges and accomplishments.
I'm not a parent who "bubble wraps" my kids. I think that makes them weak and also fosters a sense of entitlement. Having my children grow up in a neighborhood amongst families with a certain amount of money, they are exposed enough to those kind of children. You know the kind, the ones who for Christmas received not only a 52" flat screen LED television for their bedroom, but also the latest model iPod as well as the most expensive smartphone. And the kid is only 13. Yeah, those kids.
The day after school ended last week, my daughter received news that upset her greatly. She found out that the choir director at the high school resigned and took a job at a rival high school. To most people that might not sound that dreadful, but if you understand how important music is to my daughter and me, you begin to understand how crushing this news was. The high school my daughter attends not only has the state's second best marching band (of which she is a member), it also has enjoyed a reputation of having one of the best choirs in the state. I never had the opportunity to have private voice lessons when I was young, and since my husband and I can't afford those for our daughter, we felt so blessed to know that our daughter would have the benefit of excellent music education at a public school. So to lose her beloved choir teacher at school on the heels of losing a beloved music director at church just months earlier was a blow that sent my daughter seeking the refuge and solitude of her bedroom for a few days.
Enter mom. Of course I wanted to take away the pain and anger she felt, but it's not as if I had some spare cash to pay a private voice coach $100 an hour for lessons. So, I did what I do naturally: I proposed a deal, one that would involve my daughter WORKING for her prize. Being the mediator I am, I helped her broker a deal: she works for our friend Jim (our previous church music director) as an assistant at his new parish, filing music, making music folders for the coming week, etc., for three hours a week, and in return, she earns an hour private lesson. It's a win-win for all involved; he gets an assistant, she gets work experience and private lessons.
Yay me. Go mom. Nothing is free in this world, kids, but if you're willing to put in some sweat, you might just get some gold in the end.
Later daze, y'all..............
