My young man gave his speech on Duke Ellington today. It was a crazy busy weekend as I had to work Saturday and Sunday so Brad helped him as much as he could but we didn't get a lot of time practice. I was a bit concerned he wouldn't be as prepared as he should have been. Plus, the young man woke up feeling pretty cruddy this morning and had a nagging cough but really wanted to go to school.The teacher said he did a great job and that speaking is his forte. His presentation was so good, they asked him to do it for two music classes as well as his own 3rd grade class. He did his mama proud!
I have loved seeing my son gain a new appreciation for the benefits that come from putting in hard work. Did you know that when Duke Ellington's parents first started him in piano lessons as a child, he hated them? In fact, he didn't pursue music until he was almost an adult. (He actually studied art in college.) We had a great conversation about how it's important to try new things and maybe even try them again and again if we didn't like them the first time. A good lesson for us all, especially me. I tend more toward the safe, familiar things and I need to remember that sometimes moving outside of the regular is a good thing.
His work ethic was impressive. By the time he died, he had composed over 2000 pieces of music. Wow!
Here's a quote from the Duke that I love:
"I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues."
5 comments:
Trying new things and especially re-trying old things that you know you don't like is very important. I never really believed the whole 'your tastes change every 7 years' thing. I still don't know if that timetable is correct but the list of things I LOVE now that I used to hate(milk,mushrooms,green beans to name a few)convinced me that your tastebuds definitely DO change.
BD
It sounds like a great speech! Yay for your son! :-)
That is a brilliant quote! Love. It.
This post made me smeile. To think of your little guy doing such a great job on a rare topic for his age! Wonderful. I can imagine how proud he must have felt.
:)
Great quote! Glad your son did well. He must be so proud!
"To try new things and maybe even try them again and again." I can so relate to this. I like to stay in the safe and familiar place. It is such a struggle for me sometimes.
I am happy for you and your son!
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