Tonight my ds8 had his first recital, playing the violin!  Five of our children take music lessons, but ds8 is the only one to play violin.  (All the others play piano.)  It’s nice for him as the youngest of the first six to have something that he’s good at that no one else knows how to do.  That’s not an easy thing to do in a family with five older siblings who are so competent, and I’m delighted he’s had this opportunity.

It was really a lovely evening.  The recital was for all of the students of this teacher, and there were a number of different levels represented. They mixed up the levels, so that there would be someone more advanced followed by someone who was a total beginner, which I thought was really nice.  It made it more interesting to listen to, and everyone was appreciated for whatever level they were on.

Ds played together with two classmates four renditions of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  Each rendition was using a different rhythm, and the three of them did beautifully.  They all stayed together throughout each of the four pieces and did a really great job.

The recital took place in the evening at a retreat center about thirty minutes away, since the teacher is also teaching at an arts camp for girls that began just today at that same location.  It was a beautiful location, and seeing the camp that just began today which was located there gave dh the idea that it would be good for dd14.  (Did I mention she just had a birthday?  Well, she did. 🙂  And spontaneous me decided to speak to the director about the possibility of her joining the camp – gulp – first thing in the morning.

Though the director agreed it was a possibility, the price is way over our heads, so I didn’t leave on a definite note with her – just said dh and I have to talk about it together.  And at the point that I was having the conversation with the director at 9 pm, dd had no idea that dh and I were thinking about anything, and even dh didn’t know I was having the conversation.  He mentioned that he thought she’d like it, I had to go to the restroom before leaving, and between getting back to where everyone else was, I had this conversation with the director. 🙂  It was all very spontaneous.  So we all needed to talk and think about it.

When we got back home at 10 pm, I called to discuss pricing and make a concrete reservation for dd to attend.  But I couldn’t get the director on the phone.  So because I think this could be a wonderful opportunity for dd14, and because the director already said technically she was fine with accepting someone a day after the program began, here’s my plan.  I’m going to take dd there at 8 am – with her packed suitcase in tow (she and dd15 stayed up late to get her ready), and talk to the director again.  There are two options; one is residential, and one is the day option.  The day option is half the price of the residential option, and the girls are there from 8 am – 10 pm – so they don’t miss any activities, just sleeping there.  I’d have to drop her off and pick her up every day, which would be two hours of driving for me daily (unless I found other parents to carpool with).  Dd would strongly prefer to stay overnight, and I understand why – it’s a different kind of experience.  But I don’t know if that will be financially feasible.  If it works out, then I’ll leave her there with her suitcase.  If not, I’ll take her suitcase back home with me and come back for her at night.  Either way she’ll be there in time to eat breakfast with everyone!

Sometimes I wonder how a person like me who likes to have things organized in advance ends up with big projects like this that end up needing to be done at the last minute!  Tonight I was pondering if I’m really the organized person I think I am or not, and realized that it’s not an issue of organization as much as a willingness to be spontaneous.   As someone who likes to have things worked out ahead of time, my natural mode of doing things isn’t to wait until the last minute and then be harried, but sometimes opportunities come up when it’s not convenient for you, and you have to push to be able to access those opportunities.  I don’t know if most parents would be willing to deal with having an hour or two to get their child ready for two weeks of camp or not, but because I think it would be very special for dd, it’s worth it to make the effort and overcome my natural preference for how things are done.

To sum up, it was a lovely recital, and it opened the door to a possible interesting opportunity for dd. I’ll let you know tomorrow what ends up happening!

Avivah