The My Little Pony Project

"You want rums Mama?"  Kate's eyes stare at me in anticipation because even though it sounds like she is offering me much needed alcohol, she is actually asking if she can play the drums.  Kate hasn't figured out pronouns yet so she often offers you the very thing she wants to do, which can get hairy when we are talking about two preschoolers.  

We are downstairs in our neighbour's basement.  The rest of the crew are upstairs enjoying a bbq.  Kate has led me down downstairs with the threat of a meltdown I didn't want to face today. She had been down before and she remembers there are instruments for the game rock band in the basement. She remembers the drums.  

Kate picks up the drumsticks and smashes them together with a "One, Two, Three, Four!" and begins to beat on the drums. Huh?  What?  Where did she get that?  I listen a little more closely.  Does she have rhythm?  I can't be sure because I sure as hell don't have any.  I listen again.  Wait a minute…..I think she might.  I look around for a witness.  Damn everybody else is upstairs. Kate's attention span is pretty non-existent so I know this is it.  I left my phone in the wagon.  Shit. 

Fast forward to her first day of music lessons the following week.  Kate flitters from instrument to instrument in total Kate style.  She never focuses long enough for someone to distinguish whether she gets the idea of the instrument or not.  I, of course, urge her to the piano.  She, of course, wants the guitar.  I have my camera ready because as much as I sometimes criricize the media's obsession with all the feel good stories about the fewer than 1% with savant capabilities, I suspect Kate has some hidden musical talent that will blow us all away. 

As I watched her struggle to focus on her teacher's instructions and come back constantly for the squeezes she needed to get through her session, I realized that Kate's super talent is the amount of self-regulation it took her to meet our expectations that day.  Being in that strange room with a new person and being surrounded by so much of the unknown would present to Kate as a monumental task.  She nailed it with only minor issues.  That is totally enough for me.

The lesson went 'well', relatively speaking.  Her teacher sang to her and sweetly ignored Kate as she screamed, "Stop Singing!" 

We can't wait for next week.

As you may have seen on FB, Kate is currently looking for a lead singer for her band, "The My Little Pony Project."  Apply below. 

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