She wanted to apply for the "Mission Talent Show" a month ago. So, we filled out the application and sent it in. We hadn't heard whether or not she was in until this week, but I suggested we press forward and practice the songs as though she was going to be performing them.
Well, sometimes I suggested. Sometimes I begged. Sometimes I bribed with stickers. Sometimes I yelled. Sometimes we fought. Most often we endlessly negotiated.
Vivian called three days ago to say that the rehearsal is on Saturday morning, the Talent Show on Saturday evening.
She is NOT ready. She can barely sort through all the notes. The rhythm, which is very tricky, is a mess. But maybe no one will notice because it is sort of discordant and jazzy and strange anyway.
So this week I have said a new sentence, "I will not fight you about this at all this week. The natural consequence is on Saturday, and you can determine how well you do by how much you practice." She wanted to know what "natural consequence" meant and which weeks in the future would be no-fighting-you-can-decide-how-much-you-practice weeks. After each time through it, I say, "Would you like to try it again?" She sighs, rolls her eyes, groans and says, "I guess one more time."
I feel glad to have a natural consequence imminent enough that she can grasp it. That is so rare. The natural consequences of having no friends if you keep saying mean things, of working at the donut shop if you don't learn how to read, of having poor health if you never eat anything besides white things, etc. are so very far away. I've been able to not get emotionally dragged in to the drama of piano practice this week. What a relief.
But, how is this all going to work out? Will this be a positive lesson for her? There will be a couple hundred people there. Will she never want to perform again? Will it shatter her fragile self-image? Or, maybe worse, will she not even notice that it was a completely botched performance and miss this lesson completely?
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