I've been served..., from Solopreneurial Tendencies

I've been served...

December 12, 2007

Yes, I know...I've been so very slack. But (whether she realizes it or not) Dina at WordFeeder has kicked my ass into action.

I'm taking her up on 12 of her 24 days of Christmas blogging challenge. Believe it or not, I plan to blog every single day for the next 12 days.

I hope to use this to get past the traumatic memories that the song of the same title has for me. When I was about 8, I chose that as my piece for the Christmas recital given by my piano teacher. It was far more advanced than my "skill" level, and Mrs. Sanderson actively tried to get me to choose a more appropriate piece, like Jingle Bells or Chopsticks.

I would not hear any of it. I was going to play the 12 Days of Christmas for the recital.

The day of the recital comes, and my mother had dressed me the the ugliest, most uncomfortable dress ever. It had a high neck (always a bonus for a chubby, no-necked child), a stiff baby blue velvet top, and a pleated chiffon skirt that dragged the floor. It had belonged to my cousin Leigh Ann several years before (when it was actually fashionable), and I'm sure it fit her nicely being 20 lbs lighter and 6 inches taller when she wore it. It was as if my mother could forsee the trauma that awaited me, and wanted to make the event that much more hideous. God knows I wasn't attracting any attention with my flaming red hair.

The recital was held on a December afternoon in the Sanderson home. She had a baby grand in her living area, with French doors that opened into the family room that could comfortably seat 30 people.

After the opening pieces, I took my spot at the piano, tripping over that ridiculous dress in the process. I played the first days so slowly, so laboriously, that when I finally, finally got to the end of the 5th day, Mrs Sanderson came out in front of me, and interrupted my "playing" with one of those big straight-armed claps, proclaiming "Thank you, thank you! What a fantastic effort!" She cut me off, and shooed me away from the piano. I was mortified.

I'm pretty sure I quit piano lessons not long after that.

And so won't you help me put a more positive spin on the 12 Days of Christmas? Anything has got to be better than that, short of gum surgery.

filed under: Blogging about Blogging