Tonight is Miss La-Di-Da-Di's spring music concert. This is a bit bittersweet, because tonight will also be the last performance under her current music teacher. He has resigned his teaching job, because his wife is about to have a baby, and like most people, can't afford daycare. Luckily, he has another job teaching private lessons, but the kids have already told him they are going to miss him. He has told his students that he will miss them. And I know he means it...especially when my daughter tells me how he had tears in his eyes when he was talking to them. She said she had tears of her own. Heck, I had tears just listening to the story.
It should be a good night. These types of things are always enjoyable to me. There's one thing that's going to be extra special about tonight. Miss La-Di-Da-Di has a solo in the Disney Dazzle medley. She gets to sing Part of Your World. This was the first year that she had felt confident enough to try out for a solo. Last year, she let her sister have the spotlight when Mini-Me had a solo in Seasons of Love from Rent for the spring concert and 8th grade graduation. It was also at Miss La-Di-Da-Di's suggestion that Part of Your World be a solo, as the teacher had not decided to make it one as of yet. The solo was coveted by most of the girls in the choir. Thirteen of them tried out. Miss La-Di-Da-Di's teacher had not realized how well she could sing, and when she was auditioning, the music teacher and the other teacher, he had helping him choose, had smiles on their faces. Her music teacher told her personally that he did not know she could sing as well as she did. I guess that's what happens in choir when voices are just blending. :)
Singing is Miss La-Di-Da-Di's passion. She will sing almost anything almost anywhere. Sometimes I have to ask her to stop. Having this solo has given her confidence in herself this year, when she's had it a bit rough the last year and half. You see, she was diagnosed with ADD last summer.
Her teachers from last year always embarrassed her in class and made her feel stupid. When that happens, she just doesn't bother with putting forth the effort in her school work or anything else. We started off with no medication, but that didn't go too well, so she was started on generic Concerta. This helped her initially, but then some of her forgetfulness and tiredness came back. So the doctor switched her to generic Adderrall. What an improvement since the medication switch...not only can she focus better, but she says it helps her from being tired. I'm not going to give the medication all the credit though. Miss La-Di-Da-Di was determined to show that she's smart and can do things when she wants to. There are three trimesters at her school: the first, she did okay, the second, was not so good, but the third, she has really been making sure she completes all her homework, remembers to bring it all home and return it as well, participates in class, and she has been doing well on all her tests. She has showed such an improvement over the year that tomorrow she will be receiving Most Improved Student of the Year award from her teacher. She doesn't know it yet, but her teacher emailed me yesterday to tell me and to see if I could make it to the awards ceremony. I emailed her back right away and said, "Yes!"
I also want to say something about Miss La-Di-Da-Di's teacher, Mrs. C. Most of the credit goes to Miss La-Di-Da-Di, but without Mrs. C. working with me every step of the way, answering my never-ending emails, trying to find the best ways for Miss La-Di to learn, even accepting the information that the doctor had given me on how teachers should instruct those with ADHD/ADD, Mrs. C. giving her positive reinforcement, all of Miss La-Di-Da-Di's determination to succeed might not have happened.
She does have another teacher for a couple of subjects that is one that likes to embarrass the ADHD/ADD kids, and sometimes those without as well, but she has battled that and has come out on the other end. Her grades went from mostly D's to A's, B's, and maybe a C or two.
Sometimes I still have my struggles with Miss La-Di's attitude, her telling me that I'm a bad mother (something that it seems that kids with depression and/or ADHD/ADD seem to do) and her irritability, but I'm very proud of how far she has come this year. Her determination to prove that she's as smart, if not smarter, than some, her fantastic artistic and writing abilities (which she's had for a long time), and just showing that she's capable of doing whatever she puts her mind to, impresses me everyday.
