When we were in grade school, my sister’s teacher selected her to understudy for the main character in the class play which was to be performed in the school auditorium for the entire school and their parents. She was very excited about the opportunity to fill in for the lead even though she knew the odds of actually filling in for the lead were not in her favor.
My mother, however, was not pleased in the least about the teacher’s decision. Even though forty years have passed and I can still remember my mother’s lack of enthusiasm and outright anger when my sister told the family that she was going to be the understudy. Nevertheless, my sister didn’t let my mother’s lack of enthusiasm put a dampener on her zeal. Truth is, neither my sister nor I understood why my mother was so upset. But we were children who hadn't yet been exposed to what was at the core of my mother's vexation.
In the months and weeks leading up to the performance, my sister’s excitement didn’t wane. She studied for several hours a day, rehearsing and memorizing. It got to be a bit much for the rest of the family but she successfully memorized all of her lines way in advance of the date of the performance.
Then came the performance. . . .
http://www.laprogressive.com/2008/08/14/lessons-learned-along-the-way/