The winter talent show that my nine-year-old daughter Emily was in was scheduled for the same day I had to be out of town for a client presentation. Needless to say, I was devastated.
Emily had prepared and auditioned with a hula-hoop routine to a Taylor Swift song. We were thrilled when she made it, and she pranced around the house, practicing and replaying that song so many times, I think I could have done the routine myself, if only I'd had the moves. The talent show was incredibly important to her and I was so proud of her for mustering up the courage to get on stage in front of her friends, parents, and teachers.
But my company had been working on a very important deal for months. It was finally getting ready to close. The date had been fluctuating but the key players had finally committed to the date--on the same night of Emily's performance.
I needed to be with my co-workers, and I needed to be with my daughter--at exactly the same time.
In the weeks leading up to the talent show, every time Emily practiced her routine, I felt sick at the thought of telling her that Mom wouldn't be in the audience. What kind of mother was I?
A planner at heart, I developed a strategy: Scott would record it and play it back for me on our computer later that night. The grandparents would attend, and my sister would be there, too. Although all of this support was helpful, somehow it still wasn't enough. I just could not get over the guilty feeling I had about not being there. I felt completely alone in my pain.
Then I remembered that I am not alone. I phoned Jill, a friend of mine and devoted mother of two who also has an intense travel schedule. She suggested that I attend the dress rehearsal of the talent show. Why didn't I think of that?
So I sat in the auditorium and watched the dress rehearsal performance. Emily was adorable and so pleased to see me there. And to my complete surprise, there were three other working women in the audience with me! As it turns out, lots of parents travel and while they also could not be there for the big night, the dress rehearsal was a pretty good substitute. But I never would have thought of it without Jill. You see, by surrounding myself with other encouraging people, I was in a new place.
A great tool to help you get along with your teen can be found at the My Out Of Control Teen Review. Another great tool for working with your toddler can be found at the Talking To Toddlers Review
