In past blogs, I’ve talked about my daughter and her singing. She sings like an angel, a really powerful angel, but an angel all the same.

#smallbodybiglungs

So, imagine my surprise when she tells us that she’s not singing our a 4-H “Share the Fun” program because someone made fun of her last year because she wasn’t selected to sing at the state fair.

#what

The two years ago, she’s selected a song, practiced until I knew the words, and sang beautifully. She sang On My Own (Youtube, not my daughter), but it brought tears because the girl can sing. Last year, she sang Flashlight by Jessie J.  A good song, great message, but she didn’t practice as much, and it didn’t sound like my daughter. Thus, she wasn’t selected.

I’ve been carrying around this weight of disappointment because of this decision. She’s 18, she’s going to college, but to say I’m not singing because someone made fun of me LAST YEAR just makes me angry, disappointed, and sad on so many levels. I can’t verbalize this to her because she gets defensive, but she has to GROW UP. You cannot say you are passionate about something, then back down because you had a bad day 365 day ago. It changed our relationship, which is sad, but like I said, I cannot say anything because it will make things worse.

Which brings me to the “then, what??” part of this blog. Our daughter is a swimmer, and has made herself into a pretty good one at that. But after a meet about a month ago, she complained that her shoulder hurt worse that it had during the high school season in the fall.

#herewego

We said we can do one of two things:

  1. We can go to the doctor and they’ll tell you to stop swimming for at least a week, maybe longer. She got shut down for two weeks in the fall, and had rehab to deal with as well.
  2. You go talk to your coaches and tell them that you cannot swim the fly and IM back to back, that it’s tearing up your shoulder, and if you go to the doctor, you are pretty well done for the season.

#probablynotbutshhhhhhh

She talked to her coaches, stopped swimming both the fly and IM, in was put into the freestyle and breast stroke. Suddenly, she came to life. She got first in both the breast and free style at a meet, a first and a second, and tonight, a first and a second. She’s now the fastest swimmer on the team in all four strokes. She came home tonight, happy, something we don’t see a lot of of right now.

My disappointment has been tempered with this resurgence in swimming. Is it gone? No. Will I get yelled at tomorrow by my wife for being a bit of a grump? Probably.

But at least I can look my daughter in the eye, and that a start.

Because my daughter will never read this blog (really Dad, you blog?? *eye roll*) I’ll leave you with my favorite song, and her least favorite: Pharrell William’s “Happy”, because while I’m not happy, I’m getting there again. 🙂