Some full circles take 30 years.
A few months back my 13 year old son, Mika casually announced he joined a band to enter a school talent contest.
It consisted of four girls... and Mika.
According to my highly unreliable teenage sources, they wanted a boy to sing just to stand out. Whether it was for musical balance or diversity quotas remains under investigation.
Over the following weeks my role became fairly straightforward:
Drive him to practice.
Wait outside.
Drive him home.
Apparently the practice studio was off-limits.
I offered to record the audition video, help to set up the amps and even to coach them on the song they chose.
Every offer was politely declined.
So i accepted my role as the band's "unofficial roadie" and occasionally stared at the pile of shoes outside the studio just to convince myself they really were inside rehearsing.
This week was the school finals.
Mika informed me that parents weren't allowed.
I texted his homeroom teacher anyway hoping he might record the performance.
His reply?
"Actually... just come la."
So I quietly found a seat at the back of the hall... with all the other parents.
The band walked on stage and the opening riff of Oasis' "Married With Children" filled the hall.
I smiled.
I knew every word.
30 years ago, when I was about Mika's age, my own high school band used to jam that exact song.
The difference?
Our "performances" happened inside dimly lit jamming studios that permanently smelled of stale cigarettes, with an audience consisting mostly of ourselves, and lines like "eh guys.. we not bad la, huh?"
This week, Mika stood under stage lights, microphone in hand, singing that same song in front of his entire school.
And then... they actually won.
I've never been happier to be proven wrong by a 13-year-old.
I shouted his name while taking photos of the prize presentation.
He turned around, saw me.. and failed miserably to supress a smile.
"Ayah? How come you're here?"
I pointed around the hall.
"No parents allowed, huh?"
To this day, he insists he genuinely thought parents were not allowed.
"Sumpah! Wallahi!"
I'm still not buying it.
On the drive back, I remembered trying to introduce the piano to Mika when he was younger.
I had formal piano lessons as a child and naturally thought I could pass that on.
He was not interested.
Part of me wondered if music simply wasn't his thing.
Boy, was I wrong...
He just didn't want to sit behind the piano.
He wanted to stand in front with a mic in hand.
And honestly...
I'm perfectly okay with that.
As parents we spend so much time trying to teach our children the paths we know.
Then one day, they decide to choose a different route..
...but somehow arrive at a place that still feels beautifully familiar.
Congratulations, son.
Not just on the win.
But on finding your own stage.
The Accidental Adult (izwan.alias@yahoo.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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