Defining Courage

I asked my husband what's the most courageous thing he's ever done. Of course, he told me, "I've never done anything courageous." Liar. I've seen him dance with a bull and fight a sow. He walks through the fields when it's pitch black outside. Some unknown vehicle drives back to our old farm? He hops into his pickup with intentions to who knows what (apparently with his bare hands). The perpetrator could be armed and dangerous for all he knows! And he's never done anything courageous? Ha.

Well, courage has been on my mind today because I'm particularly proud of Alex. (I know, weird for me to be proud of one of my kids.)  Today she decided to audition for a solo part for a choir concert. Now, I'm always trying to talk this kid into "doing this" or "doing that" and she is usually quite perturbed with my ceaseless counsel. (It isn't as if the girls a slacker...she's pretty much a straight A student; however, she just doesn't seem very busy to me. Check out her Facebook page and you'll see what I mean.) Anyway, this audition idea tickled me. It seemed so, so ambitious. And fearless!  But.... gosh Alex, are you sure you want to do this?  What if....well...you choke?  Okay, I didn't say that to her. I said, "Let's hear you sing." And guess what? She sounded really good! Really. It wasn't just a mother imagining this voice of an angel. I was truly excited for her to audition.

So when second hour rolled around today, I said a little prayer for Al and hoped all went well for her. And that all the other auditions went poorly. Just kidding. Sort of.

Later today...

"Hey! How was your day?" I ask on the phone.
"Great!" Alex says in her typical perky after school voice, as she snacks on something unhealthy.
I wait for her to tell me about the audition. A pause.  Could this mean it went well? Or could she be watching Spongebob with Cole? Finally I ask, "How was the audition?"
"Terrible!" she says. "It was so bad! I came in too late. I sang too quietly and I missed like three notes. It was really bad."
"Oh, it couldn't have been that bad. How did the others sing?"
"They were awesome, Mom. Really, good." Then she giggles. And tells me a little more about the auditions.

The whole time Alex's tone isn't bitter or sorrowful. She's laughing and telling how much better it will be next time. Next time! I'm thinking that I probably would've had diarrhea before and after the audition, then cried all day. And here's my little champion thinking about her next chance.

When I got home that night, she played me a song on the guitar she'd been practicing for awhile. No signs of discouragement whatsoever.  I told her it's time to start singing with the chords.

Courage in the face of failure shows great strength of character.   Today was one of those days I thought, "How did I end up with a child like that?" Amazing. Thank you God.