Recital Day

She would rather have played a selection by Ke$ha.

But alas, there was a blessed shortage of Ke$ha sheet music at the time, rendering her desire out of the question.

So, with the recital looming large and just two months away, the two of us sat at the kitchen table poring over the book of duets given to us by her instructor. She, as the student, had final say in what we played; I was merely the lowly accompanist, relegated to the bass keys and subtle chords that were the trademarks of the secondo part.

But that did not stop me from dreaming.

“How about something from Annie?” I tentatively suggested, tapping my finger on a selection on page 23 of the duet book. Visions of cheeky orphans and tear-jerking daddy-daughter moments danced in my head.

“Mom.” Twin A buried her blond head in her hands. Her disdain, though somewhat muffled, was not lost on me. “Honestly. Isn’t that from, like, the nineteen hundreds? I should have just picked a solo like B did.”

My adult heart knew better than to be hurt by her words.

But the words stung nonetheless.

“Oh, no worries, then,” I brusquely replied. “I don’t have to play with you. It’s your recital.” I bit my tongue before a juvenile “What – EV – ah!” could escape my lips.

And I did my best to accept the fact that we were entering those awkward years where I would become her biggest cheerleader and ultimate thorn in her side, all rolled into one.

That was two months ago.

Then, all of a sudden, Recital Day was upon us.

And, just as suddenly, it was Twin A’s turn to play in front of the group of students and parents gathered in the recital hall.

I watched her walk to the front of the room, nine-going-on-ten-going-on-thirteen, it seemed. I beamed with pride at the sight of her while tears pricked my eyes.

Then my beaming gave way to a giddy grin as I rose, walked to the piano, and sat down beside her. (Video here).

Sue is an elementary school teacher turned full-mom to twins (a boy and a girl – age nine) and a six year-old son. When she’s not blogging, she enjoys running, reading, sushi, red wine, and generally having a good time. To read more, please visit The Desperate Housemommy.