Tuesday, August 4, 2009

“Ding-Dong the witch is dead. Which old witch? The Wicked Witch. Ding-Dong the Wicked Witch is dead.”

At 4:15 this morning, this song was zig zagging through my brain. Why? My daughter, Madison is attending a Wizard of Oz Camp this week and she is trying out for a part today. She chose the “Ding-Dong” song for her vocal try out, and she sounds great. She memorized all the words in less than 24 hours (oh, to be young again). She is excited and confident. This is my first experience as a “stage mom”. Madison is the youngest of twenty or so kids who range in age from 6 to 11, so I’m somewhat confident she won’t get the coveted part of “Dorothy”. She’s realistic about it but she would still love to be “Dorothy”. If fact, she already has the dress.

So how do I prepare her for this day? I want her to be confident and courageous, but also prepared for the potential disappointment. I mean, she could get the part she wants, but there is that chance...

So here are some ways to avoid disappointment:

1. Avoid disappointment by not wanting anything. I believe that if you shoot for “nothing” you will hit your target (nothing) every time. Sure you won’t be disappointed, but you also rob yourself of really living.
2. Keep your expectations low and you won’t be disappointed. That stinks! That would be like me settling for left over pizza when there’s potential for a steak dinner at The Taste of Texas. How many people live life settling for less than the best? No passion. No adventure. No life! I don’t want that and I don’t want my daughter to settle for that either.
3. Go for it, with courage and confidence, and should you miss it, remember that your failures are not fatal.People who reach out for something ambitious and adventurous fail at times, but who cares? The reward is worth the risk. Failure is not the end of the world (especially at six years old).

So how did I counsel my sweet, innocent six year old? Go for it! Give it your all. Should you not get the part you want, we will still be there to cheer you on.

It would be good for all of us to remember that failure is not the end, it is simply the beginning of the next adventure!

Can’t wait to hear if she got “the part” and how she responds to the news.