Busy, busy, busy!

We've been so busy! Well, mainly it's because of soccer! Marcus had either practice or a game almost every day for the last few weeks. Tomorrow is the last game of the spring season, and he'll have a two-week break until the tryouts for the next season. He's improving so much and even scored a goal a few times, so I have a feeling that he will make it to the competitive team again, but we'll see. The thing I don't care about  competitive sports is that it's very time consuming! Plus, it's so hard to find a time to practice violin when he's out every evening to play soccer. I sometimes check him out early from school so that he'll be able to practice violin. I feel like a tiger mom (yes, I read that book. It was interesting), but hey, you need to be creative to be productive.

このところ毎日忙しいです。と言うのもほとんどマーカスのサッカーのため。毎日練習か試合があって、大変！明日は今シーズン最後の試合で、その後は来シーズンのトライアウトまで約2週間ほど間があるのでちょっと一息つけるかな？マーカスはどんどん上達しているのできっとトライアウトで選ばれると思うのですが、どうでしょうね。彼は今もディフェンスのポジションで活躍していますが、ミッドフィールドからゴールを何度か決めた事も。ある試合後では、相手のコーチが「38番のディフェンスが素晴らしいね。」(38番はマーカスです）とマーカスのコーチにコメントしているのを耳にしたりしているのです。
彼がサッカーで頑張っているのは嬉しいのですが、私はとにかく時間的に余裕がなくなるのが不満。バイオリンの練習をする時間がない！そこで、時々学校を1時間ほど前に早退させたりしています。ちょっとタイガーママみたいですよね。でも、最後の一時間は休み時間と教室のゴミ拾いとかだから、たまにだったらいいかな？と言い訳。(苦笑）

Well, meanwhile, Rio was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society recently. There are many students who were chosen, but still I think it's impressive that she was chosen. She's doing great, and she's sad that school will be over in 10 days. Oh, she also tried out for the Utah Youth Symphony yesterday. When we arrived and saw and listened to other kids, we immediately realized that this was a lot more serious group than we had thought. The girl who performed right before Rio happened to be a flutist, and her performance was impressive and beautiful. To be honest, I would be very surprised if Rio makes it. She made a few mistakes and the pieces she played were not particularly difficult ones. 

She said that she would practice harder and try again next year, but I'm a little skeptical. When she was younger, I didn't give her a choice of quitting her flute, but now both James and I agree that she's old enough to make a decision by herself. I personally think it would be such a shame if she gives up her flute, but it's her life and if this is not something she thinks is important to her, I just need to let that go. Besides, I really don't like bugging her every day to practice. If she doesn't practice without being told by now, that's a clear indication that she's not interested, right?

Parenting is so hard. You want your child to have the best life he/she could have, but you can not make choices for them, and definitely can not control them. Do I like to see Rio perform with possibly the best youth symphony in Utah? Of course! Do I like to see her continue to improve her skill? Of course! Do I like to see her enjoying playing flute? Of course! 

But, what I think and like to see happening can not be the reason for what she decides to do.

I love her so much and I'll continue to support and help with whatever she would like to pursue in any way I can.

一方、リオのほうは先日「Ｎａｔｉｏｎａｌ　Ｊｕｎｉｏｒ　Ｈｏｎｏｒ　Ｓｏｃｉｅｔｙ」のメンバーに選ばれました。成績がよく、模範的な生徒が選ばれるのですが、全校で30人ほど選ばれていたので選択条件はあまり厳しくないのかな?と思いました。(笑）でも、とりあえず選ばれたのは良いことですよね。
毎日たくさんの宿題に追われ、忙しくしている彼女ですが土曜日にはユタ・ユース・シンフォニーのオーディションを受けました。学校区のシンフォニーには入っていますが、レベルの高いこのシンフォニーに参加してみるのはよいかと思ってオーディションを受けることにしたものの、当日会場に行ってみると参加者のレベルは予想より高かったです。ちょうどリオの前にオーディションした女の子はフルート奏者でとても上手で素晴らしかったし、これはきっとリオは無理だな、と思いました。

リオはフルート歴が長いものの、興味が薄いのですよね。練習もあまりしないし、意欲的じゃない。もうすぐ14歳だし、そろそろこの先フルートを続けていくかどうか自分で決められる年齢に達していると判断しています。私的には、辞めるのはもったいないし、せっかくなら頑張ってハイレベルのシンフォニーに参加してよい刺激を受けて欲しいと思うのですが、本人が興味ないことには仕方がないです。無理強いすることは良くないしですしね。彼女がやりたいことを応援して出来る限り力になるのが私の役目だと思っています。

However, it's a different story with Marcus. He asked me on Saturday when he got frustrated while he was practicing the violin if he could quit the violin. I said absolutely not. Why? Because I know he loves playing and he's too young to make that decision. He was so upset, and stopped practicing, but eventually resumed it without me telling him to. I'm planning on persisting with him playing violin for a few more years, and we'll see what will happen after that!

ただ、マーカスのことになると話は別。彼はまだ9歳。練習のときにうまく弾けなくていらいらして「バイオリンやめる!」という事もありますが、「辞めてもいい？」と聞かれると、「だめ。」と答えます。彼はクラッシク音楽が大好きだし、バイオリン弾くのが好きなことが分かっているのでしばらくは続けられるように毎日練習に付き合っていこうと思っています。
バイオリンにしてもサッカーにしても、あきらめないでコツコツ練習と努力を重ねることによって大きな成果につながる事を学べる良い人生のレッスン。彼はそれを学ばなければいけない時期の真只中にいると思います。