if her comment had seemed too condescending. She was s hocked to find out that he had moved back. “Wow! You gave up fame and fortune for dealing with bratty high school kids every day?”
“ Fame isn’t all it’s crac ked up to be. It’s a cutthroat world out there, very competitive and it just wasn’t ….rewarding, I guess. I had dreamed of making it big all my life but when it finally happened, it was like … something was still missing.”
Ellie just stared at him as if he were talking another language. Making it big had been her dream, too, ever since she was a little girl. Singing to sold out performance halls, tourin g the globe, living the lifestyle of the rich and famous and becoming a household name- these were the things that were important to her.
“What do you mean, what was missing?”
“Well, I wasn’t even sure myself at first. But I started volunteering with a program that mentors to high risk kid s and it was an eye-opening experience. I worked with kids who had nothing, just living on the streets. They were truly lost souls, and using music to connect to them and give them something pos itive in their lives was the best thing I’d done in my life.”
He stopped for a minute to sip his coffee and she could tell by the look on his face that he was remembering back to that experience. It h ad obviously been a moving one .
“Teaching music gave me the chance to really make a difference in people’s lives. It was incredibl y rewarding and I knew that it was how I wanted to spend my life. I already had a music degree so I just took night classes to get my teaching certificate. ”
“I know I would have loved to have had you as a teacher,” Ellie said with a twinkle in her blue eye s . “I bet that all y our female students have crushes on you.”
He laughed and she thought it looked like he was blushing , but she couldn’t be sure . “I don’t know about that, but I have to tell you, running the school music al is a lot harder than we ever realized when we were kids .”
“Well, I for one, hope to never find out,” Ellie said. “I plan to always be on the stage and no t behind it. I think I was born with stars in my eyes. Besides, I know I’d never have the patience to be a teacher. Kids annoy me. ”
“Sometimes, I’m not sure where I find the patience ,” he said, “b ut I enjoy it and I’m glad that I went for it , it was the best decision I’ve made . I know teaching’s not for everyone, but I bet even you would really enjoy being a mentor. You have so much drive and talent, you’d be an inspiration to kids. In fact…” The way he looked at her told her that an idea was forming in his mind. Please don’t let it be anything to do with kids , she thought to herself .
“… in fact, I have just the place in mind.”
“ Place? In mind for what?”
“I run a children’s choir program at St. Andrew’s church over on the other side of town, next to the Lincoln Terrace development.”
Her blank stare told him she didn’t know what he was talking about.
“It’s a low-income housing area for families , full of kids who don’t have a lot of positive adult guidance in their lives . The program I run is a choir, but it’s really more than that. They know that I’m there for them, that I have their back. If they are struggling at school, with friends, with family issues, they know they can come to me. I help them with their homework, bring food for them to eat and then we sing. We usually meet twice a week and then sing at one church service a month. But because school is on winter break, we’re meeting every day this week to prepare for the Christmas Eve service.”
“And what exactly does this have to do with me?”
“I’m getting there, hold on. How about a friendly wager? You stop by our practice tomorrow and after one day with the kids. I’m betting it will change your mind about kids. I think you’ll have a blast. ”
“Hmm…sounds intriguing .
“ Fame isn’t all it’s crac ked up to be. It’s a cutthroat world out there, very competitive and it just wasn’t ….rewarding, I guess. I had dreamed of making it big all my life but when it finally happened, it was like … something was still missing.”
Ellie just stared at him as if he were talking another language. Making it big had been her dream, too, ever since she was a little girl. Singing to sold out performance halls, tourin g the globe, living the lifestyle of the rich and famous and becoming a household name- these were the things that were important to her.
“What do you mean, what was missing?”
“Well, I wasn’t even sure myself at first. But I started volunteering with a program that mentors to high risk kid s and it was an eye-opening experience. I worked with kids who had nothing, just living on the streets. They were truly lost souls, and using music to connect to them and give them something pos itive in their lives was the best thing I’d done in my life.”
He stopped for a minute to sip his coffee and she could tell by the look on his face that he was remembering back to that experience. It h ad obviously been a moving one .
“Teaching music gave me the chance to really make a difference in people’s lives. It was incredibl y rewarding and I knew that it was how I wanted to spend my life. I already had a music degree so I just took night classes to get my teaching certificate. ”
“I know I would have loved to have had you as a teacher,” Ellie said with a twinkle in her blue eye s . “I bet that all y our female students have crushes on you.”
He laughed and she thought it looked like he was blushing , but she couldn’t be sure . “I don’t know about that, but I have to tell you, running the school music al is a lot harder than we ever realized when we were kids .”
“Well, I for one, hope to never find out,” Ellie said. “I plan to always be on the stage and no t behind it. I think I was born with stars in my eyes. Besides, I know I’d never have the patience to be a teacher. Kids annoy me. ”
“Sometimes, I’m not sure where I find the patience ,” he said, “b ut I enjoy it and I’m glad that I went for it , it was the best decision I’ve made . I know teaching’s not for everyone, but I bet even you would really enjoy being a mentor. You have so much drive and talent, you’d be an inspiration to kids. In fact…” The way he looked at her told her that an idea was forming in his mind. Please don’t let it be anything to do with kids , she thought to herself .
“… in fact, I have just the place in mind.”
“ Place? In mind for what?”
“I run a children’s choir program at St. Andrew’s church over on the other side of town, next to the Lincoln Terrace development.”
Her blank stare told him she didn’t know what he was talking about.
“It’s a low-income housing area for families , full of kids who don’t have a lot of positive adult guidance in their lives . The program I run is a choir, but it’s really more than that. They know that I’m there for them, that I have their back. If they are struggling at school, with friends, with family issues, they know they can come to me. I help them with their homework, bring food for them to eat and then we sing. We usually meet twice a week and then sing at one church service a month. But because school is on winter break, we’re meeting every day this week to prepare for the Christmas Eve service.”
“And what exactly does this have to do with me?”
“I’m getting there, hold on. How about a friendly wager? You stop by our practice tomorrow and after one day with the kids. I’m betting it will change your mind about kids. I think you’ll have a blast. ”
“Hmm…sounds intriguing .
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