And I dropped my son off at his sample lesson. After which he officially kicked me out of the building. Lol. Duh. I am now at a great art museum. It should have occurred to me that I am not actually needed.
What have you guys done with all your free time?
Usually chat with the other parents. It’s fun because the more auditions you go on the more you see the same faces.
It’s a scheduled audition so I’m the only parent. I used to go to school here so I’m now enjoying a cup of coffee at a great art museum. I’m maybe an old friend for lunch. Perhaps it’ll be a bit busier at schools he hasn’t already toured.
Wandering around looking at galleries and exhibits is a great way to pass the time!
Coffee shops and lots of books! I also always love to browse the campus bookstores.
I picked son up for a practice break and went to Barnes and noble. I think it helped him relax. His lesson went well . I’m exhausted and taking a nap in the parking ramp. Next we are flying to the next audition. He knows everyone really well there and I think that will make a difference on nerves. Tension is not good for string players!
I read, and offered up numerous prayers of thanks for e-readers!
Good luck to your son, @cellomom6.
The best of times and the worst of times! I wound up meeting a distant cousin I did not know about at one audition while getting to know other parents. That was fun! Good luck with the travels, especially with a cello!
Hang in there, @cellomom6 ! And best of luck to your son on #2
It’s going well so far.
Enjoy your down time. I mostly talked with other parents about–guess what?–the audition process. It was good to share and laugh with others who are going through the same experience.
I was bag lady and coat rack. So I found a quiet place to read. Funny thing is other parents would try to “adopt” DD since they thought she was there alone “poor thing”. A lot of parents stay close to thier singers and I did if she wanted me to or there was no good place to go for a short period of time. That was rare.
We just dropped our guy off at the school and picked him up when he texted he was done. We went sight seeing. S wanted to do it on his own.
Son had first mishap. His bow hair this morning was soft…yikes. luckily it adjusted to the climate change. What do you guys do to prevent this?
OK, I’ll admit it–I was one of the parents who stayed close by. I was the caretaker of the possessions and holder of water bottle, often right outside the door–sometimes even being able to hear the audition. I met other students (sometimes helping watch their things as well) and other parents, and sometimes would see them again at other auditions, which was fun. My S fortunately had no problem with me being around and in fact the whole experience was pretty enjoyable, other than the angst of auditions of course. My S and I had a lot of fun every place we went, touring campuses and doing a bit of sightseeing together after the auditions. We both have fond memories of those days.
I’ve met some nice parents already.
@cellomom6, Yikes! 'tis the season! I don’t know of a way to prevent problems with bows. Some people get winter rehairs, but with wildly different humidity and temperatures, often from building to building, it’s hard to know what to do. A couple days ago my daughter texted me (in the middle of a busy day filled with auditions and recording) that her bow exploded. She managed to get it rehaired within a couple of hours, but if you’re traveling I’d say the safest thing is to bring along a spare bow if you have one.
I will definitely look at investing in a second bow. Sigh. I’d prefer a cheap one but that would defeat the purpose of a spare bow. I’m grateful his didn’t explode. Although I think one of the cello professors would have found him one if it was an emergency explosion (established relationship) At this school anyways.
Picking a bow, even a second bow, is a challenging investment in time, energy, and money. Schools are used to things happening to instruments and helping out. That second bow could be a graduation present, once all the commotion of auditioning is finished, when he has time to be sure what he wants and needs.