Wow!

Last night, due to a vacation and the holidays, Haley had a violin group class, we went to dinner, then she had her individual lesson. She was a bit tired by 6:30pm and wasn't really into going to lessons.

Miss Gerry was very tough on her and wanted her to play Minuet 1 perfectly because she knew Haley could do a better job than what she was doing. Gerry set up a game for her with two cups turned upside-down and treats underneath and Haley would get a prize if she played it perfectly. (One part she kept missing was my fault because I did not know she was supposed to circle and up-bow to start it and since she had practiced it so much, her little arm just didn't remember to do that.) Anyway, she finally played it still missing one up-bow and received her prize.

Afterward, Gerry told me that she is being hard on Haley with technique because she is sooo talented and now is the time to perfect the technique. She handed Haley a small book filled with pictures and stories about violinists who were in a competition in Germany (her daughter competed there as a young teen). The youngest girl was 9yo and Gerry told Haley that she played songs "every bit as difficult as the ones Robin played." Then she told me that if Haley wants to be a violinist, she has the potential to do the same thing as a 9yo.

Gerry has many times made mention that Haley is gifted or talented but this is the first time she has made mention of just how talented she believes she is. I had been feeling bad for Haley because we had listened to the lesson before hers and the little girl, a few years older than Haley, is at about the same song in the repertoire but stumbles through many of the songs. I was upset that Gerry was so hard on Haley but not so hard on the other little girl. When she said that to me, I understood why.