An Amazing Cellist... and Yo-Yo Ma

For some time now, I've been in awe of my daughter's musical ability (perhaps fueled by my musical disability). She started playing recorder when she was in 2nd grade and quickly mastered three different sizes, blew through recitals, plays and even a wedding with ease. She played piano for a few years and it was quite an ordeal to get her to practice just one day a week. It didn't help that at some point during her weekly lesson, the instructor would inevitably say "I can tell you have really practiced this piece" when Marky hadn't lifted the dusty cover off the keys since her last lesson.

She is now on her third year of playing cello in the school orchestra. She has a habit of conveniently leaving her cello at school so she can't practice. Even when she brings it home, she puts off practicing, hoping I will forget or by the time I remember it will be too late and time for bed. So, when we heard Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble would be at the Providence Performing Arts Center for just one show and Marky BEGGED me to get tickets, I saw is as bargaining tool and struck a deal. Marky pinkie promised that she would practice every day after school if I would get tickets. As luck would have it, I was able to get one of the last remaining pairs of tickets. We had a wonderful time and so far, Marky has kept up her end of the deal (although she has convinced me that once she leaves school on Friday, it is actually the weekend and I had told her she could take weekends off). As an added bonus, I gained something else from the deal...a lovely evening with my sweet daughter (fortunately, she had left all the pre-teen angst, sassiness and moodiness at home that evening.... I often wonder if we will both survive these middle school years).

Markyisms vs. Hunterisms

Since I don't have any recent photos loaded on the computer, but I know the month is ticking away and I haven't posted.... How 'bout something not so recent...

Markyisms...

When Marky was a toddler, still getting the grasp of the English language, she would create her own wonderful words... I loved how she put her own adorable twist on an ordinary word. 'Rubberband' became 'bumbleband'... 'Animal' bacame 'aminal'... Her Radioflyer was her 'Red, red ragon'... To go along with 'nobody', 'anybody', and 'somebody', Marky created the word 'whobody', as in "Momma, whobody gave me that toy?" or if I was on the phone, "Momma, whobody are you talking to?" (I'll have to admit, to this day I keep hoping she will slip and say 'whobody' again... Why did she ever have to drop the 'body' and start saying 'who' like the rest of us?... I'm sure her peers would eventually stop giggling when she asked "Whobody's taking you to prom?").

Hunterisms...

When Hunter started to speak, he enunciated nearly every word with perfection. I can still remember when he woke from a nap at the ripe old age of 21 months and commanded, in a very loud, deep, caveman like voice, "Hunter go see cheetah and messy elephant at zoo again!" Sure, there were grammatical errors, but hey, a 10 word sentance, flawless pronounciation, months before his 2nd birthday. I was impressed. He didn't even falter with larger, polysylabic words like 'cinnamon', 'aluminum', and 'guacamole'... but now and then, he has used a perfectly pronounced word, in a not so perfect way...

First grade.... Finally in school full-day, Hunter was so excited to be eating lunch in the cafeteria. He had been asking to try the school lunch, but I insisted on packing his Spiderman lunch box everyday. One day, he decided to tell the secretary that I had forgotten to pack his lunch and asked her if he could borrow money to buy a school lunch. When he came home from school I removed his untouched lunchbox from his backpack and worried that he had gone all day without eating. He said, "Don't worry Momma. I told Mrs. Bridges you didn't send a lunch so she gave me the money to order hot lunch". I was mortified that someone in the office would think I would send my son to school without lunch, so went to the office the next morning to repay Mrs. Bridges. She said, laughing between sentences, "Keep the two dollars, it was worth every penny. Hunter bought the chicken patty, and after two bites, returned the tray to me and said 'I just can't eat this. It's making me obnoxious' ". Of course, he meant nauseous... but Hunter, class clown, had been racking up frequent flier miles to the Principal's office, so his mistake was both funny and fitting.

More recently, Hunter was telling a tall-tale, going into elaborate, but totally unbelievable, detail. Marky, who was growing weary of his fabrication, cuts him off and says "Hunter, there's no way that happened. You're lying!". Hunter defends himself, "Marky, I'm not lying, I was just exasperating". Marky rolls her eyes and sighs "You've got that right".