It's a common phrase I hear from my kids. Every time they tell me what they want to be when they grow up, I have to giggle inside. The reason I giggle is because they are SERIOUS about doing some of these crazy things when they grow up. You are probably wondering what in the world sparked this post?
Meet the newest, "Mama, When I grow up…"
Brandon the Musician!
Yesterday we went to the music store to rent his violin for school. He was really excited to play strings this year and give it a whirl. When we walked into the music store Brandon was overwhelmed at all the instruments and came to the grand conclusion he wanted to be a musician. Mind you the only thing he has played is spoons on pots and pans! I patted his shoulder and told him, "Absolutely!" Inside I was jumping for joy and excited that we were making progress over the previous ideas he had come up with. For instance, he loves seeing the Wal-mart Greeters and HE felt like this would be the perfect job for him. He says to me, "Mama, they don't move very often and they just smile a lot. It has to be the best job ever!" I just nodded my head. The last job he was SUPER excited about was being a grocery store bagger. When you go to the commissary on base you have baggers that work for tips. You always get a bagger and you better pray you have a few single dollar bills on hand. Well this particular day I didn't have any single dollar bills so I tipped the man a $5 bill. We got inside the car and Brandon says to me, "Mama, this is exactly what I'm going to do when I grow up! He just made a fast $5 for just putting a few groceries in our car!" I nodded my head but also explained to him I was STUPID to give him that much. He was exactly right, they barely do anything. Sigh…
I hope you can tell me your children have these same aspirations or at least similar? I'm waiting for him to say he wants to be a Vet or Pilot? Maybe a Dr.? Nope, just a grocery store bagger.
Meanwhile as Brandon becomes a musician I'm on the lookout for ear plugs. The noise that the Violin makes right now is pretty retched. It's a very squeaky sound and he moves the bow in a fast motion making the hair stand up on your neck. I'm usually pretty good about giving him positive feedback but I'm afraid my facial expressions may be telling another story.
Hope your day is filled with good things. There is always something good here.
XOXOXO
11 thoughts on “When I Grow Up…”
My mother teaches beginning strings… I can absolutely empathize with how much patience it takes to listen to someone just starting out. He's picked a great challenge for himself, though, and should learn some important lessons about sticking with something. String instruments require really complex coordination and those certainly don't come overnight. Luckily, music education does wonders for brain development… so you might try closing your eyes during the squeaking and imagine that he's prepping his brain for becoming a great vet or pilot down the road 🙂
what a sweet boy you have…….. I love reading about life at your home and seeing the WONDERFULY AWESOME CREATIONS you do…..so look forward to the video.
Have a Great day! Deb
I had to chuckle when I read your post as I've gone through the same things with our girls. It's fun to hear all the different "Careers" they want growing up :). My oldest took up the violin in 4th grade and in the beginning, the music was not as sweet like you said. Within 1-2 weeks there was considerable improvement. She had lessons every Tuesday through school and had to practice 20 minutes EVERY day. I never thought we would make it lol! Now she's in 6th grade and her 3rd year in strings, it is BEAUTIFUL! Kudos to Brandon, keep praising him and soon the music will be soothing to your ears. Hugs!
When my son had violin lessons, his Mother's Day gift to me was a private "concert" where he played me every song he'd learned. For fifteen minutes I listened with a plastic smile posted on my face while my ears bled!!! Good luck!
OMW, this is cracking me up!
My daughter is learning how to play the recorder this year-Lord deliver me!!! And she is still insisting that she is going to be an astronaut or a tennis coach. Hang in there girl!
(Hope VA is treating you right. . .I ended up in PA rather than DC or I would have been knocking on your door by now so we could stamp!)
My little Andrew who is 8 1/2 and I were in the car one day and he was telling me what he wanted to do when he grows up. He told me that he wanted to be a Ninja. He said that they are really cool and get to wear cool clothes and fight all the time. He sat there for a few more minutes really thinking about Ninjas. He looked up at me in the mirror and said that he had a problem, If he was to be a Ninja then he would have to move to Japan because there are no Ninja jobs here in the US. He said that he could not leave me to go to China so he would just have to be a Police Officer here in the states since that is sorda like a Ninja. They both fight bad guys.
You just got to love them. The things that they think of.
Meant to say that he could not leave me to go to Japan—not China. oops.
I always thought parents of kids who are learning the violon deserved a medal for patience… It is not the easiest instrument to learn and the first sounds coming out of it can be pretty dreadful. Let's hope your son has a natural talent for it and pick it up really fast. 😉
On a side note, just have your son work as a grocery bagger or Wal-Mart employee as a part-time in high school. Then see if the "dream" sticks… I used to dream of being a singer, then actress, then toy-store owner (*roll eyes*) then book store owner… I don't think you have to worry too much about it.
My son is now 9. He has been dying to join the school band. Last year the entire 3rd grade received recorders as part of the music program. He first wanted the trumpet (but due to a few technical issues, it's not an option. Though I just found out my aunt has a saxophone) Right now he's going for the concert bells/glockenspiel. Why? Because when looking for examples on You Tube, we found videos of school age boys who taught themselves the songs from the Mario Bros. video games.
His career aspirations? Shopping cart pusher. Garbage truck driver. Dog trainer. Circus clown (like Bello not the full white makeup guys, but also because Bello does lots of tricks), scanner in a supermarket (just scanning things all day long nothing else). a race car driver and a professional baseball player. And that is just in the past 6 months. Geologist is also a frequent mention.
Growing up I knew a boy that wanted to be a fire truck…not fire fighter…fire TRUCK… 🙂 I still think it's the best dream ever 🙂
K
Loved this post and the stories shared by others…thought I'd share one that my grandson told me last week. Carter is 3, and he got a new Batman backpack. He told me that he is going to go to "Batman Schooo" (school) and so I asked him what he was going to learn at "Batman Schooo", he said "I'm ganna learned how to be a Batman guy for when I grow up"! …duh, Grammy!!!! lol
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