Downs With Ups

I wrote this a few weeks ago…

What a buzz.  We’re on such a high at the moment and I’m bursting to tell the world about how proud and excited I’m feeling.

We’ve just come home from a music concert, where we were entertained by a number of well-rehearsed musicians, one of whom was Poppet.  I’ve heard of other schools hiring the Melbourne Concert Hall for their music performances, who clearly need to show off their talent on a grand scale.  This concert however, was much less ostentatious; it was held in the music room of a small primary school; the school many of the musicians attend.  It was an intimate affair.

Even though some of the children were much practiced, playing quite advanced pieces and some had a way to go, everyone participated equally.  Mums, dads, sisters, brothers, nannas and poppas all came along to support the budding musicians and everyone was as proud as can be.

Poppet is fortunate to have inherited her parents’ innate musicality and music is her first love.  Her passion manifests itself in a number of ways, including singing, dancing, listening to and playing music.  She has a musical ear and is able to play notes on the piano after hearing them sung first and she often tinkers around on her keyboard, becoming excited when she discovers a couple of bars from one of her favourite songs.  This was true for one of her concert pieces.

She came bursting down the hall one afternoon, after finally nailing a small part of the song by ear, on her keyboard.  “Mummy, mummy, I can play ‘You Are My Sunshine’, my beautiful Grannan’s song.  Come and listen.”    I could just imagine Mum’s heart swelling.

Her obliging music teacher was able to locate the sheet music for the song, which became the focus of many hours of practice, for Grannan was going to be at the concert and Poppet wanted to play it perfectly for her.

This evening, Poppet was excited and didn’t appear to be nervous.  Before playing, she turned to face the audience and with flourish, introduced each piece she was to play.  She played flawlessly and was the consummate entertainer, engaging with the audience and even taking a bow at the end.

Looking directly at Mum who was sitting in the audience, she finished with “I love you Grannan,” before sitting down to listen to the other children play.  I suspect Mum wasn’t the only one who was touched by such sincerity.

When Poppet was little, I was determined to expose her to a variety of different activities in the hope that she would find one or two that she loved to do.  We spent many hours trying new and different potential hobbies, which became somewhat of a balancing act.  It would be pointless forcing her to do something she didn’t enjoy I thought, whilst at the same time making sure she wasn’t just resisting something new.

We found her love for music early on and it’s this passion that I encourage, perhaps even indulge.  We go to concerts, both classical and pop, (she has often been the youngest audience member at Rod Laver Arena and the Melbourne Concert Hall); we go to the opera and the ballet, which she loves; I help her with her practice, which she does enthusiastically; I download songs onto her iPod, to which we listen, (sometimes more than I care for); she loves watching people enjoy the music she has selected for them and we go as often as we can to watch Daddy play in his band.  Her world really is filled with music.

Apart from enjoying my daughter’s enthusiasm, I have another reason for encouraging her to develop this hobby.  I believe this will become a backdrop for her throughout her life, one that she can rely on even during times when she is lonely or feeling unhappy.  In a world where options are limited for her, wouldn’t it be wonderful if it even steered her in a vocational direction?