i sang tonight. on a stage. in front of hundreds (maybe? not really sure, but it was standing room only) of people. all by myself. no accompaniment. just me. my voice. i didn’t even get a first note.

my cousin (one of many many) is a music teacher in my school and she had a concert tonight. she asked if i would sing the national anthem to begin the concert. there were many people i work with there, including some admins, and of course, all the kids.

i finally decided to do it. yesterday. i wasn’t sure i’d be in good voice and so i wanted to wait. i did it.

it’s a big deal because even though i sing with my professional chorus all the time, i haven’t sung by myself in years. the reason? because i had a “barbara streisand moment” years ago when i was singing at an art gallery.

i actually forgot the words to a song i had written. why? because i knew it so well, i started to daydream and when i came back to the music, i’d forgotten where i was. i stumbled. i am a perfectionist, and so this is of course, not acceptable.

i was really traumatized by it. tonight was my re-debut to singing by myself. it seemed a pretty safe venue. i did well. not as well as i would have liked (perfectionist rears the ugly head), but no one else had a clue.

anyway. it was good i did it. and the kids, when they found out i was singing were awesomely excited. how can you say no when you know they love it so much?

i feel pleased. maybe my singing career isn’t over yet

PS– i should post the shot of me singing the national anthem at the pontiac silverdome in detroit. note to self: remember the 1 and a half second delay and wear ear plugs! (yeah, it doesn’t seem like a lot of time, but it is HUGE)