Doing the Scary thing
This week Ruby presented her Passion to her class. It’s actually super cute - each kid gets a whole week to present their Passion. They make a Project board and present/talk about it every day. And the teachers plan activities around their passion. Well Ruby’s passion this year was Music and she was super into it. We’ve been working on her board for weeks. While I helped search for images, she cut and pasted everything herself. We even hand picked songs for her playlist!
Her presentation board was one of those tri-fold ones so she had 3 sections: Instruments, Her favorite songs, and different types of Musical Artists. We helped her figure out her ‘talking points’ throughout the week and even let her practice….when she felt like it. I told her we could bring in her stage set up, DJ set, microphone, and music. And she immediately said, great then I can perform for everyone and you and Papa can come watch me! I said sure even though I was secretly wondering if this would be too much for her - would she get nervous? Is it too much to put on her? I had no idea…. But what could I say? This is what she wanted and I couldn’t say no just because I was worried it might be too scary for her - I mean this was HER idea. So I emailed her teacher and before you knew it we had a talent show day with a stage, microphones, and Ruby as the finale! I told Edward about the plan, and the first thing he said was, “Do you think it’s too much? What if she freezes?” Good to know we’re consistent….Ha. I told him I was thinking the same thing but she asked, and well our job is to deliver right? To be honest, I don’t think either one of us was 100% sure. I mean we both think she’s a Musical Genius but she’s 5 and she could freeze/get scared/whatever. EEEEK! But well we’ll just support and cheer her on and be there for her no matter what. And at the end of the day, what if she freezes - she’s 5!
And then Passion Week starts and I can see that Ruby is super excited but also nervous. We explained that it’s ok to be nervous. Edward and I both talked about being nervous when we had presentations or important meetings. And she couldn’t believe it - especially that Edward could ever be nervous. That was super cute. :) The teachers sent us videos every day and honestly she was amazing - so poised and confident and articulate. I couldn’t be prouder. But I could also sense that this was really important to her and that she wanted to do a good job. Which is great! But I also didn’t want her to put too much pressure on herself.
On the morning of the big performance, you could tell Ruby was super excited but also nervous. She was quiet and a bit fussy, but we danced around in the morning to keep her in good spirits. We had little disco balls and neon bracelets to hand out to the kids. She even had little flowers for each of them - I wanted it to be fun and festive. By the time Rebeca dropped her off at school she was fine. And by the time Edward/I got there (in time for the show) she was ecstatic! The other kids went first and then it was little Ruby’s turn. She. Was. Perfection! No nerves, no fear. She sang, she danced, she performed. She owned that stage! It was glorious to watch. I can’t say I was surprised - I mean she knows all the words to all songs, she is a great dancer, and she loves to perform - I just wasn’t sure what to expect. But most importantly she genuinely looked so happy and so proud of herself. I was just so happy for her and So. Damn. Proud.
Looking back, I think it’s normal as a Mom to get nervous for your kid. And probably normal to want to protect them from anything scary. But you have to check yourself I think (or I do anyway). To be honest, when Ruby first suggested the performance, I almost asked her if she was sure. Thank god I didn’t because I would have totally been projecting my fear on her. I wanted to protect her from the big scary thing and keep her safe. But I’m so glad she was able to experience this just the way it played out - doing something new, being a little scared but doing it anyway, wanting to do well, and then kicking some major ass - and showing everyone that she really is a superstar!
