Aimee: My music lesson

usually i’m the one barking the orders in the house, but today i was the student. my artsygirl came home with a note from her music teacher offering all students the opportunity to be the music leader for a day if they practiced the lesson she sent home. my daughter took this task to heart. she set up her class in our living room which once again has dirty floors, recruited my younger daughter and me to be her students, and she directed us through school chants, songs, dances and scales. when we didn’t stay in our proper places, she ripped up a papertowel and marked our spots with a sharpie to keep her class in order. birdiegirl continued to be a troublesome pupil and was eventually sent to the principal’s office, and i was in danger of a timeout in the red chair when i took this photo. in the end i recovered my standing, learned the chants and songs and scales, and earned a prize.

it was a change to see her take on the role of a leader and enjoy it so much. usually she’s the dreamer — reading in the sink, writing stories, ringing the doorbell wearing speedo goggles and identifying herself as an orphan from minnesota in search of a new home — basically just lost in her imagination, which is her most endearing quality to me. but i think i often just see her through that lens, and it has shut my eyes to the fact that she can step away from the dreamer and do other things, too. it surprised me, in a very good way. it certainly made up for yesterday’s surprise, when birdiegirl piddled a river all over herself at 7th and kentucky and i didn’t have a shred of extra clothing with me. (another lesson, i guess.)

other lessons i’ve been digging this week: 1) cecilia’s tutorial on how to make patterns, 2) jen’s polaroid journal made from glassine envelopes, 3) jan’s painful reflection on hauling too much crap down the stairs, and 4) jennifer’s brilliant article on the struggle between art and ambition, the dilemma of putting your passions on the market, and that tiresome question of “what do you do.” and of course, please visit alexandra, who chose this weekword and always has wise (and funny) lessons of her own to share.

[Re-posted from Aimee’s blog by permission.]