Life Lesson

Serena "tried out" for the part of Mary yesterday for our church's Christmas pageant. That means she got on stage, and said her line " I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said." She did good, in the fact that she got up there and said it. But the poor thing was so nervous her voice was quiet and she spoke slowly and had to try hard to remember the line she knew perfectly well. Then later on, as there was no one in the audience, she was on stage playing and she was loud and dramatic and everything I know her to be. I am hoping as time goes on this is something she can transfer from in front of small groups to the stage. I know she'd LOVE to be in plays when she is old enough for school productions, if only she'd dive in. But anyway back to the pageant

I was on the decision committee, and I was determined not to be the pushy mom who tells Emily what part my child will have. I mean honestly, who ever thinks that this is appropriate? What if we let every parent decide where there kid went? We'd end up with 50 Josephs and 50 Mary's...maybe an angel or 2. It's not only wrong, and unrealistic, it's teaching your kids a bad lesson. A lesson that they always deserve to get their way, and that they always will get their way. What a hard slap in the face reality will be when they grow up and don't get their way in life. How on earth will they handle it if they never learned the lesson with small things, like Christmas pageant's as a child??

OK, so many tangents, back to my story. So we decide all the parts, except Mary. I told Emily, it would be unfair for me to decide that part and to leave me out, but when it came down to it, I thought another kid should get the part. I know. I know. What Mom votes against their kid? Well, I did. She did so good, but someone else did better, and so she deserved the part, not Serena.

So Serena is an angel, that was her second choice. When I told her, she was sad, but who wouldn't be? It's no fun being let down. She said "So I did that for nothing?" To which we were able to have a great talk about you don't always win, or get the part, but that it's okay. Just trying out, and getting on stage in spite of being afraid was an amazing thing, in fact that was more important than getting the part. She seemed okay with it, sad, but okay. She then asked me who got the part, and I wouldn't tell her. The email hasn't gone out yet to all the moms, so I kept my lips sealed. I also didn't want her to focus her sadness on the other girl, which would be tempting with the news so fresh.

She was still sad, until I told her that as an angel, we could curl her hair. That's all she needed to hear. All was well.

Maybe as we get into the pageant more she'll still be sad. Maybe she'll be just fine, but either way she'll learn. That's more important than getting the role. And who knows, maybe she'll try it again next year?