A few weeks ago Kaylie came home with exciting news that she had been asked to go to Regionals to play her Viola. Her excitement soon turned to stress as she prepared for the competition. Last Wednesday was the big day. Tuesday, I seriously thought she was going to have a nervous breakdown. She was telling me that there was no way she could do it and that she just wasn't going to show up. Well, that didn't fly too well with me or her Dad. So Wednesday night, off she went to compete in Regionals. Now she was originally scheduled to play at 3:15 but a week before the competition her teacher asked if he could change her time to 6:30 because another student had a conflict and needed to play earlier. Kaylie said, that would be fine. So we arrived about 10 after six only to find out that she had missed her turn. She was still on the schedule for 3:15. We then hunt down her teacher and he explains there must have been a mix up. That he had e mailed the person in charge and notified her of the change. Now the person in charge is the Orchestra Instructor at Tooele High School. For those of you who have never met her... let's just say she is one in a million. For those of you who have met her, well, you know exactly what I'm talking about. She is extremely talented musically. But let's face it, she is seriously lacking in the social skills department. Anyway, Kaylie's teacher goes up and starts explaining that he had e-mailed her about the change and that Kaylie should still have the opportunity to play. So, "Marge in Charge" gets all bent out of shape and says she never got that e-mail and Kaylie won't be able to compete this year. I was a little bit upset. I mean how fair is that? It wasn't Kaylie's fault the schedule got messed up. After some discussion they decide to let Kaylie go ahead and play. At this point, Kaylie looks like she is going to throw up. And I have to admit, the whole thing was extremely intimidating. A panel of sour puss judges and talented kids from high schools all over the place. And here was the deal... they were running way behind, so Kaylie had to play right then and there, without warming up. Kaylie then explained that she just needed a minute to warm up. And get this! The lovely person in charge proceeds to say... "Warming up is a luxury!" (grrrrr) The AUDACITY!! No. I'm afraid warming up is a necessity. All the other kids warmed up. The Boston Philharmonic warms up! So then, our cute, brave, Kaylie took a deep breath and said, "I will just try again next year." I'm afraid the whole thing was just too much for a little freshman. Which, I guess is a good thing. Had this not been our first experience with Regionals I'm sure I would have had a few choice words for Marge in Charge. All in all, I think it was a good experience for her. Now she knows what Regionals looks like and she will be more prepared next year. We have learned that once you are on the schedule, sorry, no tradesies. And I just have to say, if she would have been able to play, she would have done fantastic! By the way, don't mention any of this to Kaylie. She's trying to block the whole thing out. Ahhhh, stress. It's a glorious thing.
2 comments:
I tell ya, there are a few teachers I would like to have a word with. Some I would like their head on a platter. I'm so sorry she had to go through that. But one day she will look back at it with a smile and a lesson learned. She is so pretty and I'm sure very talented. She doesn't need a teacher to tell her that!
I love the picture. She looks so pretty! Doesn't Marge know its about the people not the programs? Oh, well.
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