Disaster . . . averted

If you know Sarah, you know that she loves to act, can be very funny, and actually has a good singing voice. The only problem is that she has always been very shy about showing that to other people--at least in a formal, public setting.

Well . . . tonight was the annual elementary school talent show. And Sarah surprised us months ago by saying that she wanted to be involved. She had chosen to sing along to the tune of Taylor Swifts's "You Belong to Me." We filled out the form; I burned a copy of the song to hand in to the show coordinator; Sarah began practicing and singing around the house. (The fake microphone and stand that Grace got for this past Christmas has come in handy for sure, so thanks Alpharetta Martins!)

Well, I remained hopeful that Sarah wouldn't chicken out at the last minute. I worried that when she saw the crowd and thought about the stage, she'd freeze up. But she remained loose at home and when I asked her about the practices, she was confident . . . ready to go.

Tonight we met up after work. Lynda brought the kids from home (with one of Sarah's classmates, who was also in the show and was hanging out after school) to a pizza joint. I met them there. We ate and then headed over the one of the high school auditoriums for the show.

When we got there we saw a problem straight away; Sarah's name wasn't listed among the thirty or so acts in the program. Lynda quickly found the show coordinator and asked.if there was a mistake. Mrs. C. acted like she didn't know that Sarah was in the program and had not gotten notice that it was Sarah's intention to perform. AND . . . she didn't have the music CD that I had made months ago and was the basis for Sarah's act.

!!!!!!!

Now . . . if you know Sarah, you also know that she has struggled this year with keeping up with things, remembering homework, listening to instructions, and remembering where she put things. It has been a bit of an eye-opener for all of us this year. So, I was fully prepared in my mind to realize that Sarah had completely misremembered the entire submission of entry and CD and everything. Much to my horror and frustration, I imagined Sarah in tears, as all her work, her confidence went down the tubes due to another mistake.

But Mrs. C. rolled with the punches and the minutes until the beginning of the show approached. She spoke to Lynda and I got orders to rush back to the house and reburn another version of the song. She wouldn't be in the program, but notes would be sent to the MCs to adjust their banter so that Sarah would be introduced when the time came.

So I rushed back while the show started off. And luckily I had not changed the setting on the song from iTunes; and lucky that I had another blank CD around the house, so all I had to do was make a quick copy and jump back in the car and go. I got back without missing too much of the first few acts and Lynda got a copy of the music up to the sound room in the auditorium.

And then we waited. Because of the mixup, Sarah had to go on last (LAST!!!). But go on she did and she did such a great job. She sang out strongly along with the music and there weren't any problems. The crowd was good and all of her fellow performers and classmates sang along and clapped and cheered (just as they had done throughout the entire evening for every act). It was a long night, and Lynda and I alternated waiting outside with Hannah, but in the end it was worth it. Given Sarah's bouts with stage fright in the past, I was so proud of her. And for all of us to overcome the mistakes and still handle it, I'm proud of us all.