#SOL16 Day 4

To make a difference in someone’s life you don’t have to be brilliant, rich, beautiful or perfect. You just have to care.” ~Mandy Hale

Reading Tricia Ebarvia’s post yesterday got me thinking. Sr. Roseathea, my music teacher in elementary school, planted the seed of the love of music in my heart and soul.  I can remember the shows performed on that little stage like it was yesterday.  When she let us sing “Joy to the World” (the Jeremiah was a bullfrog version) I was stunned that a nun could be so cool!  She awakened in me a desire to create music but more importantly a desire to share music.  Thus started my journey (right there in the fourth grade) to becoming a music teacher – a career that lasted 23 years.  

After I became a music teacher and started putting on shows of my own, I had a revelation. The work was very difficult, but I loved it.  There was so much stress leading up to show night.  It was a challenge to get over 200 kids, grades kindergarten to eighth, on stage in the right places, saying the correct lines, and singing with enthusiasm. We rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed until finally it was the night of the show.  That is when I got to look up at those precious faces staring at me for direction.  When the music began I was usually so full of emotion that my eyes almost overflowed.  I was so proud of those innocent voices. In my eyes, every show night was just perfect.

I realized just how hard Sr. Roseathea worked with such little recognition. I realized that she didn’t do it for the recognition.  She did it because she loved music, and she cared about her students. I decided that she needed to know how my life turned out.  A couple of years ago, I tracked her down and sent her a thank you card. I told her how my musical life evolved after eighth grade and what an impact she had on my life.  She returned my note with a note of her own telling me she learned as much from her students as she hoped they learned from her.  I understood exactly what she meant.