The day he was to “try out” to get into band, he was unfortunately sick. In fact, he forced himself to go to school that morning, specifically to try out, but by lunch he just wasn’t alright. “Mom, I need to come home. I will miss out on trying out for the trumpet.”
My heart broke in eighty-kajillion pieces, hearing my son so defeated, wanting so badly to try out that day, but unable to. The friday prior, him and a few others had performed the proper sound with the mouthpiece to be able to even try out to begin with. The band director was expecting him to try out. Neither one of us even considered that he’d become sick.
When I arrived at school, I explained the situation and pleaded with the secretary to let me speak to the band director on his behalf. I had hoped, maybe, my son could try out when he felt well. I knew try-outs were happening right then, but maybe he could give him a day or two? They put me through to his office, and I spoke with this very southern-accented man who said he’d pray for my son’s well-being, and he was more than welcome to try out when he was well again.
Two days later, he came home celebrating. “I made it! I made it, mom! I’m gonna be a trumpet player!”
My heart burst with happiness – he’d done it! I was so proud of him. Thus begun a love of playing music within him – he’d always loved singing and listening to music. Now he’s playing it, too.
Monday night was his first “concert” – a collection of three, very simple Christmas-type songs that had very few notes and easy to perform. You could definitely tell the band had a lot of new-to-music instrument players playing their hardest. My daughter showed me their concert booklet, and much to my surprise, my son had a solo in the second song. Oh my gosh!
“I was so nervous, mom. I had butterflies.”
“You did wonderful, baby. You can watch yourself when we get home!”
I had caught it all on video (thank goodness for tripods) while I snapped away pictures, cementing into our family’s history and memory his first time playing in a band, and his first musical solo.
As they get older, there aren’t a ton of firsts as when they’re small, so when they occur, it’s got to be a huge celebration – first tooth lost, first bike-ride on two wheels, first book read, first speech and social studies fair, and now, this.
Life is just too damn good to not fill it with celebration, don’t you think?
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