My role in this has been mostly to provide opportunities for her to listen. The music teachers at her elementary school have done all the heavy lifting. They provided us flash cards, a cd of the music, a folder with information on each of the pieces and composers. They have been working with the students twice a week before and after school. And as I said, the girls and I listen. We have the cd in the car and we listen to it on the way to school, to and from the Reading Ranch and back and forth to the grocery. It has been a long time since I have listened to one cd non-stop over and over. I think the last one was The Indigo Girls when I was in college or maybe Graceland. I had forgotten what it is like to have a musical companion like that. One that lifts you with its carefully placed notes that speak directly to your heart. This was even sweeter because it was Helen, Lauren and I listening together. We all had our favorites. Lauren loves Pa Pa Pa Papagena by Mozart. Helen loves the Cello Suite #1: Prelude by Bach. And, I never tire of Copeland's Fanfare for the Common man.
As time went on, Helen would say things like, "Listen, do you hear this part? It sounds happy which is confusing because it is suppose to be a march to the death but it is happy. That is how you know he is writing about a dream." Lauren and I would learn these things and then we too were able to listen more fully with an appreciation and understanding that Helen was giving us. She never did this in a bossy way, it would pop out as she would hear it, with understanding and clarity. An "aha" moment where she connected what her teachers had taught her.
It is a wonderful thing to share music with your children. It is quiet connected time. It is also the first time where I listened to Helen less as a Mom and more as a person interested in what she has to say. It is good for both of us. We are emerging into an age where she is becoming more complex. It is important that I notice the changes in her tempo, rhythm and mood.
So, by yesterday we had been living and breathing Music Memory for awhile and as a result, we were pretty invested in the competition. She needed to be to the high school by 8am. I had visions of the whole team forfeiting because I failed to get her there on time. Thank God, this was not the case. She finished by 9:30am. We were free until 2pm when the winners would be announced. Mom and Dad came in for lunch and the ceremony. Helen's piano teacher braved the chaos and was there to cheer Helen on too.
I went into parent auto pilot, relying on all those things that have been said forever, "do your best, we are proud of you know matter what, you know this stuff like the back of your hand...you will be fine, eat your eggs and pumpkin pie so you have lots of brain power. I love you." We were very well prepared except that apparently we dropped her off needing to pee like a race horse at exactly 2pm. Apparently I misread Helen crossing her fingers at me from the gym floor. It was not hoping they would place in the competition. It was hoping she wasn't going to pee in front of 500 onlookers. Luckily the music teacher likes her and had a very sweet look on her face as she and Helen raced to the bathroom moments before the rankings were announced. They made it back in time.
There is something very satisfying about watching your kid sitting in the middle of a team they are part of. All of them beaming with happy anticipation. Of course up in the stands Mom, Dad, John and I sat befuddled by a wompy PA system trying to use our spy brains to figure out what was being said. We knew Music Memory womp womp womp was happening. Helen and several of her team mates were going to the podium. We assumed since they were all going up, that they had gotten 5th place. But something wasn't right, they were getting certificates and so were kids from other schools. Still it must have been overlapping because it was all of Helen's team. They started calling out 6th place. 5th place. 4th place. 3rd place. Maybe Helen's team got honorable mention then? 2nd place. 1st place, Cheatham Elementary. Helen's team got first place!!! All the kids came up to the front carrying their certificates and being presented blue ribbons. Come to find out, the certificates were for perfect papers. Five of the six people on Helen's team did not miss one thing on their tests. That is why they all came up. They were receiving Certificates of Excellence. Helen of course felt bad for the one girl on her team who did not get a perfect paper. She felt bad for Cheatham's 5th grade team for getting 6th place because there had been a 5 way tie and they had not done well on the tie breaker so no one would realize that they had all scored perfectly on the first round and had originally tied for first. Mostly though she was happy and proud of her team, her rocking music teacher and herself.
We celebrated in McGurk style with Slurpees. I am sure future activities will end in ribbons, tears or both but this will always have that distinction of being the first. This will be the one where we fell in love with 16 beautiful pieces of music. Where we realized how different it is to vaguely hear than to listen with awareness.
For my sweet girl who has reminded me how to listen.
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