Suddenly I'm Up On Top of the World...

Authenticity speaks to me.

And this week it spoke to me in an unusual way.

There is a five-year-old boy who sees me as a hero.

Yep.  Me.  Flawed and broken as I am.

He loves school buses and the piano.  And he sees me working with both.

I had no clue I was a hero.  None at all.  I'm living in a world full of failure on many, many levels.  Not levels that defeat me, mind you.  But many failures not of my making. 

In spite of that, I am a hero. I love that.  Really love it.

So. 

I was invited to a piano recital.  I was SO excited to be invited.  But the time overlapped other important things.  Still, I KNEW I wanted to be there.

I brought Joe with me to E's recital.  Joe loves kids as much as I do.  We both felt a little harried and rushed, but we made it there to watch E.

And... wow!  He's amazing.  He's so small and doing all the right things at the keyboard.  He's doing things I wish I knew!

Later, we learned how important our attendance was...

Mom:  Yeah, it mattered that you were here!
Me:  I'm really glad I was.  He's so talented!
Mom:  Well, here's what happened.  We said, "it's time to start."
E: Not everyone's here.
Mom:  (looks around) I think everyone's here.
E:  No.  Not KARI!

I am SO SO SO glad we made it.  No one should ever let down the people who want them there. 

And you know what?  Being a hero's great, but it's also a little mind boggling.  I will never let down E if it's in my control to keep him happy.That's a HUGE promise!