Satisfaction

I judged jr high all-region tryouts on Saturday. When I was a choir director, judging tryouts was one of the necessary drudgeries of the job, and honestly, one of the things I was looking forward to NOT doing again. (The directors reading this may disagree. You may love sitting for ten hours and listening to 200 different students sing the same 2 minutes of music over and over, and over. But not me.) So, why did I do it?

Well, I've been missing my kids. And I knew I would get to see some of them. And it was wonderful! I loved even the few minutes I got with them before I had to run to a meeting, seeing how they are growing into the adults they will be one day. That was one of my favorite parts of teaching -- witnessing the process of growth.

Also, I love their new director. When I decided in Sep of '08 that 08-09 would be my last year of teaching, I started praying then for the new director. We had made some major progress in the three years I had been there, foundational stuff, and I wanted the kids to have a director of some experience and achievement to help them further tap into their potential. Well, they didn't get a director with just some experience -- they got a director with loads of experience and achievement! And to top it off, she really loves them.

That was such an encouragement for me, personally, to know the work would continue. And again, because of her immense expertise, Mrs. Dunavan will grow that program at a much quicker rate and to a deeper level than I could have if I had stayed. She's just awesome.

The first major indicator of this is that TEN of her jr high kids made the all-region choir! I am so happy for those kiddos, each of them! And I will see you guys at the all-region concert!