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An Odd Thing

Well, last night I sat through my last band rehearsal of the season, and I relished every single moment of it--sweat, screeching trumpets, missed pitches, and all. Can't wait until next summer to start the bloody thing all over again.

But the odd thing--there is a student in the horn section, a nice 16-year-old girl who has just recently joined the band. She's polite and talkative, even to a gray-haired-forty-something woman she can't possibly have anything in common with except the horn. I always appreciate friendly youngsters. But the odd thing--I think she's a little too friendly. She always offers a big wave, she tries to interject in conversations I have with adult friends, and the other day before the Italian shindig, she kind of hugged me and put her head on my shoulder as she said hello. I offered a "hello" back, but what I wanted to say:

Little girl, you're nice and friendly, but we are not and never will be friends. I'm old enough to be your mother. My #2 girl is in your class, even, and you should be her friend, not mine.

I'm being harsh. Last night, when everyone was randomly warming up and the stage sounded like rush hour in a city (so unlike my own little town--I can barely remember rush hour). Anyway, the friendly girl handed me a card in a nice pink envelope sealed with a Jiminy Cricket sticker. She had one for my principle-horn-friend as well, who is her own horn teacher. Half way into rehearsal I opened the card and read the sweetest thing--all about what a good friend I have been to her and how she appreciates my support for her musical learning experience and how she has learned so much from me just by playing with me all summer. Very nice, except that I don't believe she can hear my playing from where she sits, and I don't believe I have said more than a dozen words to her all summer, and I DID NOT kind of hug her back at the Italian thing.

I'm not sure what to make of this, except that now I don't have to make anything of it, I guess. I won't be seeing her very often until next summer. The principle-horn-friend thinks she's just searching, and my mother thinks that maybe life at home is lacking, and she's reaching out. Could be. Odd thing, though. And I can't think of a single 40-something who my own #2 16-year-old would kind of hug. Hmm

Comments

Ms Mac said…
Hmmmm... strange for sure. I think I would have the same reaction as you. I agree, something may be lacking at home but I don't know if I'd have the patience/charity to be the one to fill the void for her.
10:46 AM
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