Fret

For the last week, Kaylee has been on Cloud 9 waiting for her first guitar lesson. She's told everyone she can get to listen that her first guitar lesson was today, including the library lady at school. She wanted to take her guitar to school to show them. She told everyone at school today that she was going this afternoon. Before we went over for her lesson, she had to run next door and tell Grandma & Grandpa that she was on her way. She was lit up like Christmas, so excited she couldn't sit still all the way there.

So when we walked in, though technically she probably floated in, and the guy behind the counter said "Well, he already has someone back there for this time slot", my heart wasn't the only one that sank. As he was double checking his records, Kaylee's ears turned red, and she got quiet, and as he was apologizing for goofing up and explaining how he would give us a free lesson to make up for it, I was watching her out of the corner of my eye. He finally turned directly to her and apologized, and she gave him a smile and said "that's okay" in a very polite, perfectly normal and sweet sounding voice. You couldn't tell that it was any big thing at all to her. Considering how well I know her, and how excited she was about this, I know what that took from her to do, but she did it. I was so proud of her grace. When we walked out and got to the car, I stopped and told her how sorry I was, and how proud I was of how she handled herself. But she was so...deflated...you could see it happening slowly right in front of your eyes...that the only thing she said the whole way home was one very quiet "I was so excited, Mom." She didn't cry, she didn't whine, she just curled up on the couch and stared off quietly. It's just a guitar lesson, I know, but I haven't seen her that eager for something, and she was really truly let down in a big way by it.

I made some phone calls, and ended up being able to arrange for her to go later that evening after all. I had a flight at Sheridan, and Steve had a lesson, so Grandma & Grandpa took her, and it worked out just fine in the end. Once I got it arranged for her to go? That's when she actually broke down and cried a little. But once she got to do the lesson, she loved it. She had taken some of her music in for him to listen to, and one of them was a Johnny Lang cd, which her teacher played along to on his guitar for a little while. He traced her hand, showed her how to properly hold the guitar, how to place her fingers on the various strings, what a 'fret' is, and gave her an assignment of practicing four chords for next week. She already practiced for today, and her goal is to be able to play a song for her dad for Christmas. She's on her way. :)