The Price of Success

prac·tice [prak-tis] –verb (used with object)
to perform or do repeatedly in order to acquire skill or proficiency: to practice the violin to train or drill (a person, animal, etc.) in something in order to give proficiency

I know you've heard the old adage: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? And the answer: Practice, practice, practice. Well it's true and after years of practice I got there for a second time last month. Well, sort of...

Saying you got to Carnegie Hall implies you performed there and I wasn't the one who actually stood on the stage of that famous auditorium. I didn't tread upon the boards where countless famous musicians have stood and performed. I didn't cast my gaze upon the resplendence of that magnificent theater from the vantage point of a performer. I wasn't the one who actually attended all the rehearsals or spent hours poring over music scores, or practicing scales. I wasn't the one who had to learn: the phonetic pronunciation of foreign languages, the history of numerous composers, or to stand with bent knees so as to prevent fainting.

I was merely a mom....in the audience. An extremely proud mom! My 22 year old daughter Cameron, is in her senior year at Southwestern College and about to finish her choral career the way my oldest son, Tyler, began his. At the age of 12, he sang at Carnegie Hall with the Kansas Youth Choir. I feel like I do deserve part of the credit for the accomplishments of both children, however. After all, I was the one who initially thought they had singing talent and encouraged them to audition for the Kansas Youth Choir. I was also the one who chauffeured; chaperoned; and sold (poinsettias, candles, cookie dough, braided bread and heaven knows what else) to help finance the experiences. Credit should also go to their dad, aunts, uncles, grandparents and countless close friends who helped pay for the trips by buying all that stuff. It took a group effort to make those trips happen for both children over the course of ten years. From my vantage point it was money and time well spent to finance two experiences of a lifetime.