Drama!

Last week, Peyton auditioned for "The Land of Uz" at Corner Theater (hence the blog title). She was very excited, but when she got there she freaked out a little. There were two parts to the audition. First, you went into a small room with a group of 5 students to sing. When Peyton came out, she looked at me sternly and tears started to roll down her face. I said, "Baby, what's wrong?" She said, "They wanted me to sing 'see, see, see' and I didn't want to sing!" Uh oh...

So on to phase two of the audition. This was the speaking part. This time, she was in a library FULL of all the other hopefuls and their parents. I was thinking to myself, "Great, if she flips out in a group of 5 kids, what is she going to do in a room full of people?" Much to my surprise, she did GREAT! When it came her turn, she stood up and read her line like a pro. She played around with the directors and everything. It was awesome.

Turns out that she was not cast in the play this time. I was so scared to break the news to her. I didn't know what she would do. She wanted to be in the play SO badly. It was breaking my heart just trying to think of the words to say. I decided to tell her this: "They didn't pick you this time, but they want you to come audition again if they have another play. And it's okay, because you will already be really busy. You have Leaderettes and softball practice, and you know there are lots of birthday parties coming up." She looked disappointed when I told her, but lo and behold, this was her response: "Mama, I bet they didn't pick me because I wouldn't sing, 'see, see, see'. Maybe next time they will ask me to sing, 'doh, doh, doh' and I will do it!"

Lord, thank you for giving me a daughter with the ability to handle it when things don't go her way. It seems like I underestimated her ability yet again. Children never cease to amaze me with their grace and poise and ability to handle pressure. I'm so happy that she took it in stride. In my book, it's important to want to win, but equally as important to know how to lose with grace, learn from your mistakes, and persevere.