November 2, 2011

• marching to the beat

  I just got home from one of my favorite early November events at the local high school.  At the end of marching band season, the band does an indoor concert of all their half-time music and stand cheers from the football games.  I try not to miss this concert, because our music program is totally awesome, the football games are fun, and the concert is a great time.

  I had an extra reason for going to and enjoying the show.  My kid, the freshman, was there!  You have no idea how huge this is.  She’s been reluctantly playing the clarinet since 4th grade.  I’ve been nagging every step of the way.  I mean every step.  She wanted to quit every week in the first year.  Then she realized that quitting in the middle of the year wasn’t going to happen, so she just didn’t practice as she should and then whined at the end of every year that she didn’t want to do another year.  A couple of those middle school years she didn’t speak to me much, because I was just darn stubborn on this one.  I’m a pretty powder puff mom, so this is big.

  Why was I so obsessed about her doing band?  Because I knew, almost without a second of doubt, that this kid would LOVE marching band.  I know I did.  Practices, band camp, football games, bus trips, competitions, fugly wool uniforms, spats, cold nights, memorizing music, not watching the football games, trips to Kennywood, singing ridiculous songs, hanging out.  Marching band was the best way to have fun in a totally geeky way and be part of a group in a time of life when being a part of something was so necessary.   I wanted this for my kid- who doesn’t always belong to a group and seriously doesn’t make her own plans yet (and I’m so done making playgroup plans.)

  This girl o’ mine is stubborn, I’ll give her that.  She sort of agreed to give marching band a try. I think I might have said words like “give it a year and if you don’t like it….”  The first day of band camp, she was nervous.  Maybe a little excited?  When I pulled into the school parking lot to pick her up at the end of practice, I could immediately tell two things:  she’d had a good time and she didn’t want to tell me that.  I bided my time.  Well, the silly girl couldn’t even make it the whole way home (a 5 minute drive) without spilling the following words, “mommy, you were right!”  Heck, yea, I was right.  And it’s been a blast the whole season.  She’s loved the practices, the parades, the games, the activities, the concert.  She adores the kids who are in her little group.  She’s had social plans on more days than I can keep track.  And she’s happy and enjoying high school.  Who can beat that?

  What were those words again?  “Mommy, you were right.”  Those are some beautiful words.

  I was going to post a link, but you don’t wanna see it anyway, do you?  Let me just say that the Earth, Wind and Fire show was totally awesome and it’s astounding how well a bunch of high school kids can play Stars and Stripes Forever (best march ever written, imho).

  And we’re at year number 2 with nagging the second kiddo.  She’ll start marching band the year after her sister graduates. 

  • 11:09 pm
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