We went out last night to hear my daughter's bff perform at an open mike jam in a bar. A family friendly local bar, but a real bar populated mostly with middle aged grownups drinking beer or getting ready to perform on stage. Which is to say, this was no kiddie operation. This was not parent's night at the end of the semester. This was a real open mike event in a real bar with real grownups. Which is to say, it was real, y'all. Unschoolers work mostly in the real world in order to study the real world.

Dear Bff is a real singer with real ambition and was really excited about her first real performance. For which she had been preparing a long time. A local dad volunteered to accompany her on the guitar. She carefully and thoughtfully chose a deep, difficult, and wonderful song from Neko Case,
"Star Witness." (If you are unfamiliar, pause to listen, if only in wonderment that a child would pick such a vocally difficult song!) And she arrived on time last night well prepared.

Unfortunately, the dad who offered to accompany her was a no show, a deadbeat no call no show. Her first real performance in the real world and she's hit with a dose of reality--its important to carefully pick the people with whom you plan to work. Otherwise, you may find yourself blown off, a real and important lesson.

Us mothers were *a bit* displeased. Everyone was disappointed. We watched Dear Bff out of the corner of our eyes. Surely she must have been displeased, disappointed, worried, and angry. Tears were expected.  Surrender and tears would have been reasonable. But Dear Bff hung out with her friends looking nervously relaxed, as any great performer generally does before a show. (Yeah, I've spent time in plenty of green rooms, I've seen bigger stronger more famous folks look a lot more nervous.) She never cried. She never pouted. She basically never wavered. She waited until waiting was no longer reasonable. Then she put her name on the list to sing anyway.

And when her name was called, that child stepped up on stage all by her self and nailed that song acapella. Her performance was confident and strong, silenced gagglers at the bar, and dropped our jaws. I can't imagine how proud her parents must feel. Gosh, I was so proud of her!

Witness, another star is rising in the world, for real.