Piano Festival

Princesses E and S have been practicing hard for the annual MMTA piano festival that they participate in. This morning was the time to get it all over with. As alike as the princesses are at times, it is funny in how different their reactions to stress are. Princess E, like her father, gets very straight faced, no-emotional response and very few words. Princess S, on the other hand, gets visibly "freaked out" for lack of better terminology. She will pace back and forth, wring her hands, jump up and down, put her head in her hands, and loudly proclaim to everyone in earshot - "I can't do this." Which of course she can and does, but try telling her that in the moment. It is becoming more and more difficult to do this festival because the standard Princess E has set - achieving three perfect "5's" in a row to win a trophy - is the standard that Princess S has set for herself. I used to set that same standard for myself as a kid - perfection - and y'all know what happens when you set that standard. You win some - but when you lose some (and you WILL lose some) it is that much more devastating. I'm wondering if it isn't time to find a different type of piano performance opportunity for one of them so that there isn't the added pressure of competing with her sister. Both girls did well and played well. One of them was "almost" perfect - one of them made some small errors that would have been less noticeable had she not stopped to correct them. But we were very proud that they conquered their fears and persevered. Way to go, Princesses!