Moral Support
Posted by Robyn Lee in Family on Friday, October 15, 2010 2:00 PM
On this blog I’ve shared with readers the long road of my singing career, from singing in the shower to winning the state talent competition.
If you recall, winning the state talent competition won me a ticket to Vermont to compete in the North East talent competition.
Mom roped me ... er, I mean, convinced me to join this competition, so she agreed to come with me for moral support.
The drive up to Vermont was actually really special. It is not often that a mother of seven and grandmother of 22 can spend four (uninterrupted) hours with one of her daughters, so I was very grateful for the time. We had some great conversations, and it is a car ride that I will always remember and cherish.
The miles went quickly as we chatted away, but I knew we were getting closer when I spotted “moose crossing” signs!
The conference was held at a state college so mom and I shared a college dorm room. It was really fun (except for the community bathrooms … ugh. I don’t miss that).
Once we arrived, we got settled and made our way over to the auditorium for the sound check.
It was only the sound check and I already felt sick to my stomach. Mom was a bundle of compliments and encouragement. I waited my turn as the other competitors sang a few lines from their songs. Hmm, she has back up music over the sound system … I have me, myself and I.
When it was my turn to sing, I will admit that I felt proud to see a few surprised faces from my competitors.
After the sound check Mom and I went back to our dorm room, and I practiced for her.
How patient my mom is! How many times had I sung that song over and over and over?
As we practiced I couldn’t shake my fear. Mom brought up the fact that I was never nervous before high school musicals.
Me: “Yeah, but that was because I wasn’t Robyn Lee. I was Sunny Day or Melba Nesbit … or whatever character I was supposed to be.”
Mom: “Well, then get into character.”
Brilliant. Why hadn’t I thought of it earlier?
Mom gave me her suitcase as a prop and I pretended that I was rushing to the train station for my exciting trip to Tennessee on the Chattanooga Choo Choo!
Fast forward to the night of the talent competition. My fellow competitors and I sat in the front row waiting for our turn. I was second to last (so I had a long time to sweat it out).
The first woman who went up had trouble with her background music (hmm, maybe it’s better that I’m singing a cappella). Once she smoothed out her technology difficulties and started to sing, the woman next to me started freaking out.
She turned to me and said, “I can’t go up there I’ve forgotten the words to my song!”
I tried to be as reassuring as possible. “What are the first lyrics? You got it. Just remember the first couple of words and you’ll be fine. You are going to be great.”
Once she calmed down I started to freak out myself. What if after all this I forget the words too? Panic set in and the fear returned.
Then I thought of my mom’s prop. I didn’t have any words to remember and this panic I was feeling was because I was late for my train! I channeled all that nervous energy into my character.
When they called my name, I wasn’t Robyn Lee I was a traveler looking for the Chattanooga Choo Choo! I grabbed my suitcase, rushed onto the stage, pointed to the audience and sang: “Pardon me boy? Is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?”
I stood close to the edge of the stage, winked at the older ladies, flirted with the judges, and smiled in the direction of my mom. The prop was working and the song was good.
After the judges deliberated, they called us all back onto the stage.
Could I be first place? I won’t deny that the thought was running through my head, but no blue ribbon this time. Chattanooga Choo Choo tracked in at second place. (I look better in the red ribbon anyway.)
I started this journey blaming my mom for the uncomfortable things she gets me involved in and finished feeling happy to be in the competition (and for all the extra time spent with my mom).
What special things do you do with your mom? Does she live close by or far away? How do you keep in touch? I’d love to hear of a cherished time that you’ve spent with your mom.
Print Blog
Email a FriendPost a Comment
By submitting this form, you give Faith And Family Magazine permission to publish this comment. Comments will be published at our discretion, and may be edited for clarity and length. For best formatting, please limit your response to one paragraph and don't hit "enter" to force line breaks.
