Hey...they tricked us!

My granddaughter's school had a big 'promotion' going. Mrs. Bodily, kept telling her first grade classroom that Alvin and the Chipmunks were coming soon for a special assembly at their school. 6 year-old Kennedy talked and dreamed about it for nearly 4 months! She got her little brother pumped to see Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, too. The big day came and the school gym was packed with excited kids who had flocked to Bridgerland Elementary School to meet their cartoon heroes! Chipmunk chatter filled the air as anticipation had built to a peak. With wide-eyed wonder, the students, visiting siblings, parents, friends, and invited relatives all sat on the black metal chairs facing the velveteen curtains. The big event had finally arrived! A hush came over the audience as the lights went down and the curtains were drawn. Three lone figures stepped to center stage... and an audible groan swept the hall.
All eyes recognized the three school personnel clad in homemade 'costumes' (if you can call a large, yellow paper "A" pinned to the front of an old sweatshirt a costume). Disappointment deflated the crowd like a puncture to a latex balloon. Speechlessness ensued. The crowd had been duped! Months of anticipation gave way to disbelief. Even 3 year-old Mason recognized the wrongness of the whole event. In the silence of stupor still capturing the audience, Mason loudly and distinctly voiced what everyone else was obviously thinking: "Hey, they tricked us! That's not the real Chipmunks!" The months of build-up crumbled to a huge pile of disgust over the lousy imitation. It was hard to tell which group was more disappointed: 1)Parents & Adults at the obvious lack of effort made to make it special for the kids after so many months of hype or 2)Children in losing the sense of magic that accompanies events like Christmas and Easter because adults they trusted failed to deliver on a promise.
I have a pet peeve! PLEASE, when you accept a calling or an assignment, give it your best effort. Remember that others are counting on you to pull it together, follow it through, do it right-and with some element of finesse and 'magic'. It is so much more 'adult' to recognize and admit your limits. If you can't do something, don't say 'yes' in the first place! It's better to say, "I'm sorry, but I just can't help you with that right now" than to say you will accept the challenge and then let it slide and do nothing at all or do it poorly. That is so childish and disappointing AND it's a bad trick to play on others. Follow through with your commitments and promises. If you don't, you deserve being pointed at and 'boo'ed on center stage, while wearing a big yellow "A" on your chest - and it DOES NOT stand for 'Alvin'!