Sigh......and smile.

I was at the ACDA Summer Celebration in July when I found out that my choir had been accepted to perform at the 2010 Alabama Music Educator's Association annual In-service Conference. I had mixed emotions that day because I knew what an honor it was to be invited to perform but it also scared the mess out of me knowing we would be performing for my colleagues and people who KNOW music.

Since then, I have spent a lot of time and energy into preparing my students to rise to the challenge of performing for this conference. There were days where I said to myself, "What was I thinking doing this?" or "There's no way we are going to be ready." My choir is young and the first few months of school I thought I had made a mistake in applying for this performance.

Well, on Friday, we performed. I have never felt such a since a rush of emotions all at one time like I did that day. I looked out in the audience and saw my family, my friends, my former students, parents of students, and colleagues and knew that I was about to share with them something so special, a part of my heart. This group of kids came together over the past few weeks to create some magical musical moments and I was so happy that we were able to recreate that on Friday. They sang with passion and a true understanding of what it was they were singing about. Those were our goals and they surpassed them.

I have put my heart and soul into building this program and Friday's performance is one that I will always remember. Through tear's, I told this to my students on Friday before we performed along with how proud I was of them and how blessed I was to be their teacher. From their reactions, it will be a performance that THEY will remember for years to come and that my friends, is why I teach.

Now it's on to get ready for district and Orlando!! No rest for the weary but there will definitely be a more relaxed feeling in the choir room at HHS this week!