SO, the Muppet has been taking piano lessons for a while now, as those of you who regularly voyage on the Maru know. Well, the end of the class finally came and it was time for the recital. Yes, 3 year olds have piano recitals. I know, I know…I have a daughter and I need to just resign myself to the fact that I have years and years of recitals awaiting me in what is eerily like what I once considered hell to look like back when I was a young boy and trying to think of the very worst thing in the world that would happen every day for all eternity - cause that is how a Sunday School teacher once described hell to us as young children. Although now that I am older and more mature and wiser in theological issues, I know that hell is actually an eternity of being a junior high band for beginners teacher. Luckily I have no intention of going to hell, so this is all academic anyways.
Back to the story at hand. The Muppet’s recital. To use the Southern colloquial, we got all gussied up and went to town with the Muppet dressed up in a “princess” gown. It is a pretty little dress that we picked up in Hong Kong during our recent trip to Asia (but that is another post), and it’s all pink and such like little girls are want to have. But I have no doubt that in her mind she loked like this:
And if that is how she thought she looked, then who am I to say differently? She was gorgeous. In fact she told me so about a dozen times over the course of the afternoon.
So we get to the performance hall and she ducks backstage leaving Ferf and I to fend for ourselves with regards to seating and such, but we find some stellar seats after nudging some smaller siblings of performers away. They were trying to save seats for their parents, but I told them that the seating police had just informed me that they were not allowing the saving of seats at the performance and so unless they wanted me to turn them in (with possible jail time being handed out - cause after all, this is the POLICE I am talking about) then it was in everyone’s best interest if they simply went and found their parents. Seriously, who leaves 8 year olds to hold seats!? Like I can’t scare the crap out of an unsuspecting 8 year old…it’s why I carry a fake badge in my wallet. It comes in handy all the time!
So we get primo seats and wait for the performance to begin. It actually wasn’t that bad a time. Sure I got a dirty look from some guy with an 8 year old looking for seats in the nose bleed section right before the performance started, but outside of that, it was pretty straightforward. The Muppet looked a bit like this as she wowed us all with her prodigy-like performance of the old favorite “Please Do Not Step on My Toe.”
Quite honestly I might have been the single greatest left-handed performance of that particular classic since Bach did something similar at age 2. But the Muppet looked better doing it. In fact, she spent most of the time looking at the audience instead of the music or keys AND she never missed a note. My little musical genius. She gets it from Ferf. I can’t even play the radio well. I was going to learn piano as a child..my folks bought me a keyboard and everything, but the lady who was going to teach me lessons died before my first class. I am no dummy. I took that as a direct and clear sign from God and started playing football.
But the Muppet does have some of my jeans genes in her DNA too. During the recital, actually during the performances of 3 other children, she got up from her chair, walked to the edge of the stage, looked me right in the eye (in the 4th row where I was sitting), smiled HUGE, waved with enthusiasm and said “Hi Mom and Dad!”, then walked back to her seat and sat down. THREE TIMES!! It was like the audience had somehow forgotten that she was the center of the universe and had somehow mistakenly given their attention - if ever so briefly - to another child simply because said other child was playing the piano. Being the kind and gentle soul she is, she simply and softly corrected this by drawing attention back to her in a very soft yet direct way. It was tastefully done and well executed - at least I thought so. Unfortunately, I am pretty sure she did it once when the kid playing belonged to the guy up in the nose bleed section with the 8 year old. He probably did not find it as adorable as me. But then what do I care. He didn’t even show up early enough to his own kid’s recital to get good seats. Bad parenting in my opinion. His kid should have been good enough to keep folks focused on him. Not my fault if the Muppet is more enjoyable to watch.
What I love about the Muppet is that SHE chose the piece to play for her recital. There was like a dozen different musical arrangements that she could have chosen, but she picked…well, to be honest, the easiest piece of them all. Now, some folks might be somewhat embarrassed by that fact. But I understand her. She chose that piece so that she could play it with ease and look at the audience while doing it. She gets that there are no bonus points for trying the hard piece. But there are bonus points for performing any piece so well that you endear yourself to the audience. AND SHE’S THREE!!! I love my daughter!!!!
Anyways, I have digressed. When her performance was over, the Muppet came down and sat with Ferf and I to watch the other classes do their thing. As she sat in my lap snuggling against me, she looked up at me and said, “Daddy, being on stage is fun for me.” This is SO my daughter. I just love her!
That being said, I figure the only way to end this post is with a flourish and a bow - like the Muppet ended her performance.
Ok, so maybe she had a stuffed dog in her hands when she bowed. It’s a long story…