Hailey participated in her first Idaho Falls Music Club Junior Solo Festival on Friday.
In the midst of packing for a snowmobiling weekend up in Island Park, taking Indie to the "pet hotel," running Hailey to the orthodontist, getting ready for Hailey's birthday celebration up in Island Park (i.e., buying, wrapping and packing her presents), going to Sam's Club to stock up on food necessities for the weekend and I could go on, we pulled up to the church house with a few short minutes to spare before it was her turn.
While we were waiting outside the room, I was trying to keep Crew and Paige separated. It seems those two always pick the most inopportune times to start a wrestling match or some sort of antic. Hailey was conscientiously organizing and preparing her music while she sat waiting. Crew and Paige had gone to get drinks from the drinking fountain. Paige has developed a new tactic for her fear of dehydration. She fills her mouth up with water so her cheeks are bulging and saves it for a while until she feels thirsty again. I actually don't mind this new trick of hers because it keeps her quiet for a few minutes.
Paige was told not to move an inch away from the wall.
Meanwhile, it seems all the other participants and their younger siblings were all sitting quietly, behaving quite nicely, I noticed. I was trying to carry on a quiet conversation with a woman in my book club (who happens to be Hailey's teacher's daughter, Idaho Falls is such a small town) while attempting to referee my own unruly children. Paige, still conserving her precious water in her chipmunk cheeks, decides to climb up onto my lap which is already occupied by Crew and nudges him out of the way (nudges is probably too nice a word). Crew, annoyed he is being pushed, sees an opportunity he can't pass up, takes his fingers and pokes both sides of Paige's cheeks, shooting water all over Hailey's carefully organized sheet music, soaking the pages and part of her dress just as her name is called to go into perform for the judge.
Here's Crew after he was banished to the stairs, away from Paige. He got over it quickly, obviously.
I was so impressed with how Hailey handled herself, I could use a lesson or two from this girl. Instead of freaking out, which I would have definitely done at her age (and probably would still do now), she just got up, brushed herself off and went in to perform.
I think she did well, it was hard to keep Crew and Paige from each other's throats during the 10 minutes she was in the room but I did get to peek in a few times. More importantly, I think, was how she composed herself so calmly in the midst of what could have been made into a much bigger problem. She definitely gets this quality from her father. Calm, collected, patient and kind.
Not only does Hailey posses these traits but she has amazed me with her discipline and her commitment that she has put into piano during the last few months. She sets her alarm, sometimes for 6 am, getting up an hour before the rest of us, gets dressed, makes her bed and quietly goes downstairs to the office and practices for 30 minutes. I don't know many (any, really) 8 (almost 9, as I'm writing her bday is tomorrow), year olds who have the maturity or discipline to consistently do this. She's amazing. I can only imagine how much more amazing she is going to become.
