First orchestra rehearsal 1

After 21 years of not playing the violin, tonight Hestia and I went to our first orchestra rehearsal! I was SO nervous to go. Not only was I nervous about my skill as a musician, but I was super nervous about Hestia! I was really worried that people would give me a hard time and refuse me access because of her, and I was worried that she would get bored and restless and try to investigate things and generally be a poop during rehearsal.

Well, my fears were COMPLETELY unfounded! I was welcomed with open arms, and Hestia was perfect!

I sat next to a really nice young woman named Bethany, and I hope to sit next to her next time! We got along well and are at similar skill levels. We were able to play a great deal of the music, but like many of the other first violins, we dropped out a bit during the hard parts.

I brought a mat for Hestia to lie on, and when I put it down, she went and plopped down on it like a champ. She did move around a bit while we were playing, but always stayed just to my left either right on the mat, or right next to the mat. Every time I looked down at her, she was just chilling out. Really she was perfect!

I was afraid I’d have to step on the leash at times to keep her from wandering, but she had no need of that. Even when the person next to me dropped her shoulder rest on top of Hestia, she just sat up, watched them get their shoulder rest, and laid back down. Everyone around us was really impressed.

The only person who gave me even the slightest hint of a mean comment about Hestia was the security guard as we were walking across the parking lot. He said something like “That had better be a companion dog, because pets aren’t allowed on this campus!”. I said “service dog” and went on my way.

We just got home at about 10:15, so a late night for me. But it was worth it! I enjoyed it, and I think Hestia may even have found it restful, too! Here’s to next week!

Pictures of Hestia are below. She is wearing her red mesh vest and is lying on a pink mat that says “Diva” on it. You can see the corner of my dress, my red sugar skulls dress. And in some of the pics, you can see the scroll of my violin, which has a dark chocolate brown varnish.