“We Have a Winner Wednesday Monday!” The winner of the fall candle is Maureen Feist! Congratulations, Maureen! Maureen lives in Oregon, in the cutest vintage house…complete with white picket fence! I have known Maureen for over 20 years, and am privileged to call her my friend. She home educated all three of her now-adult children. Send me an e-mail at helms.teri@gmail.com with your address, Maureen, and the candle is on its way! XO, Teri ;0)
“A good mentor will most likely turn down the individual seeking to be mentored, the first time they make the request. Quite possibly, the second inquiry will be met with a “no” as well. It is a wise individual that continues to pursue the mentor that they know will help them to further their mission and goals.” ~ Olivcr DeMille
I remember it as if it were yesterday.
Son #3 requested that I take him to our church…
so that he could participate…
in music auditions.
For those of you that may not be “of the church going persuasion”…
or have a differing “religious worldview”…
you need to understand something here.
My brother Tim..
affectionately refers to our church…
as the “church of Costco.”
It’s huge.
Depending on the time of year…
there are 3,000-6,000 people…
that come and go on any given weekend.
It’s a sprawling expanse…
of “building…
parking lot…
and lawn”…
that takes up…
a gigantic corner in town.
“Auditions” then…
mean that everyone desiring…
to play in any of the bands…
or for any of the events needing musicians…
“show up” on the given day…
in the given month…
to “strut their stuff.”
This particular day…
happened to fall…
on what I recollect as…
“one of the most sweltering”…
days in August.
I grudgingly trudged to my vehicle…
Son #3 happily in tow…
for the fifteen minute drive.
Upon arriving…
we were informed…
that the auditions were upstairs.
This experience was going to continue to be swell. (tering)
In order to conserve electricity…
only the rooms…
being occupied by church staff…
are air-conditioned.
The upstairs room we were ushered into…
was not one of them!
Do I need to remind you that heat rises?
I didn’t think so.
In spite of the heat…
the process was quite professional.
There was a microphone up front…
and each candidate…
was called forward…
when their time slot was “up.”
Son #3 is extremely musically inclined.
Hero Hubby…
growing up in The Salvation Army….
has had a standing rule in our home.
Two years of piano…
and theory…
and then afterward…
you may decide to pursue…
whatever instrument you’d like.
At the time of this audition…
Son #3 was deep in the throes…
of strumming the mandolin.
We won’t go into the two years of piano…
but suffice it to say…
that they were nearly the death…
of not only him…
but the three teachers…
that had him over this time span!
Sadly…
the teachers were also all in the same family!
And we like to think that they are our friends.
While they are not Roman Catholic…
it is my personal belief…
that they will…
at some point in their lives…
be receiving…
a special dispensation for sainthood…
for surviving the experience.
“Fate” would have it…
that one of said “sainthood candidates”…
was on staff at the church…
during the time of “this incident.”
She happened to “be passing through the room”…
right as Son #3…
was called to the stage.
She and I were now seated together…
at a table near the back…
as he walked (with extreme confidence)
towards “the goal.”
As he got up to go…
I noticed that the mandolin…
was strangely absent.
Me: “Psst…where is your mandolin?!”
Son #3: “I didn’t bring it. I’m not playing the mandolin.”
(nearly) Saintly Teacher: ” Oh nooooo.” (with that futile whistling tone)
It was then that we both spotted the drumsticks…
standing up in his back pocket!
I think that at this moment…
the beliefs of reincarnation…
and out-of-body-experiences…
endorsed by Shirley MacClaine…
flashed through my mind with accelerated speed.
“Did this son PLAY the drums?!”
“Was I gone for long periods of time with no recollection?!”
“Was he moonlighting somewhere while we were all sleeping?!”
At this particular juncture of time…
I did what any mature…
confident…
capable mother and mentor would do.
I ducked under the table…
to call Hero Hubby!
Son #3 was now in the drum cage.
There was no turning back.
The moderator of the auditions…
was giving instructions…
that were talking about beats…
and time signatures…
how the drummer would cue the rest of the team…
and now, quite frankly….
my profuse sweating had absolutely no correlation…
to the temperature in the room!
Hero Hubby was ZERO HELP.
Zip.
Nada.
Zilch.
“I think it’s phenomenal that he’s giving it a try. More power to him!”
No one but me…
(and it is, quite frankly all about me)…
seemed to be concerned with the fact…
that we hadn’t really ever seen him play the drums!
There was no doubt about it…
(nearly) Saintly Teacher got it.
ST: “You haven’t really heard him play, have you?”
Me: (still under the table) “NO!”
ST: “Well, listen up! Because you’re hearing him now…
and he’s really good!”
To be continued on Wednesday…
when…
both stunned and floored…
I come back up from under the table…
to the land of the living…
to learn more life lessons as the mentor…
and recognize thriving musicianship!
Recent Comments