Anime Boston is this weekend so I should talk more about it, but business be damned. I had a proud parenthood moment last night and that takes precedence over the pursuit of profit. But otherwise yes, you should come see me at Anime Boston this weekend and buy several copies of all my books.
Anyway, last night my son had his spring concert. He started taking flute lessons this year through the school and was selected to be a member of the beginner band because he was quite good at it! He’s been practicing steadily all school year and we finally got to see the district-wide band perform.
I was holding my breath before the show started because, historically, music played by elementary school children who have only just begun to learn their instruments has the potential to be a cacophony. However, the music program in our school district doesn’t push beginners to learn too quickly, so the concert ended up being more of a review of what the kids had learned all year. It was the right approach and it made for a lovely evening of beginner music.
Any time you encourage your child to get involved with something that they end up enjoying and being good at is something to be proud of. I was very proud of my son last night, both for his dedication to practicing (bolstered by my wife’s ongoing reward-for-practice deal with him) and with his comfort for being in front of an audience. Flutes are generally sat near the front of the stage so he was right up there!
I played music during my school days, elementary school all through high school, and the concerts were always something I looked forward to. To pass that love and appreciation for playing music on to my son is something I am very proud of. I hope he sticks with music in his many school years to come and that he comes to look forward to the school concerts as much as I did, and now do.