Jun. 15, 2009 - One Proud Mama and a Warm Summer Weekend
I had hoped this would be much more clever than it is, so if you were looking for a cleverly written, humorous account, move on to the next blog. If, however, you are curious about our first Warm Summer Weekend, read on...
I am looking towards the end of a 7-week busy period in our year. Last weekend was one of the busiest, but also one of the best. Saturday morning was the kids’ ACR (Annual Ceremonial Review) for their cadet squadron. In the afternoon was our band’s annual Grexne Cup World Invitational Championship Golf Tournament followed by a bbq dinner. There was an activity at the church that we skipped due to already being overbooked that day. Sunday afternoon we were all invited to the birthday party of a friend of my 6 year-old.
To begin at the beginning, Saturday morning was not a sleep-in day. Four of us had to be up to get our uniforms ready for the parade. It would be an especially memorable parade due to the roles we all had in it. My husband and I were in uniform because our band was filling out the cadet band. I had been unsure of whether I wanted to play because, while the musician in me ALWAYS wants to play, the mother in me wanted to watch my children and be sure to get good photos of them. Fortunately a friend volunteered to come and sit with the little girls and take photos for me. So, pressed and de-linted, we headed out the door at 9 am.
The cadets had a full run-through of the program, and the band also ran through the music. We needed to be briefed, and the Drum Major made sure we all knew where we were to be and what we were to do. She was very good at giving orders, in spite of the fact that two of the band members were her parents! One would think that it would be odd to take orders from one’s daughter, but I found it absolutely delightful! What a thrill it was to be in the band and watch my first born standing in front directing us and leading “her band” on parade! To puff me up even more, my son would sound the general salute on his trumpet. Before the parade I took plenty of pictures of the kids practicing. I was so proud of both of them, and being a scrapbooker I of course needed plenty of photos of the event!
One trumpet player commented on my daughter’s bossiness, though I must admit that she comes by it honestly. She was a little intimidated because she was leading adults as well as cadets, but she did her job with confidence and it paid off. Without any instruction, she conducted Col. Bogey during the inspection. I was particularly impressed with the way she was able to get her bass drummer back on the beat when the drum strayed slightly from the rhythm. When the Wing Commander, who had agreed to be the reviewing officer for the parade, inspected the band, she took him through our ranks like a pro. When he finished, as is customary, they stopped to have a quick exchange of words, and on this occasion this happened to be right in front of me, since I was the last to be inspected. It was not a terribly big moment, but for some reason seeing my daughter handling her responsibility so well was more than this mama could take and my eyes teared up with pride as they walked away.
In the arena sound carries, and when my son played the General Salute, he filled the large space with full, rich sound, hitting each note with precision.
After our band’s participation was over my trumpet player and I sat down to watch the rest of the parade. We knew what was coming – being on the parent committee I had seen a list of the award recipients a few weeks ago. When the reached the award for the Top Marksman I watched my daughter’s face so as not to miss her expression when they called her name. This was the only award she wanted, and I knew she wanted it more than she let herself believe. She loves to shoot and is going to rifle coach camp this summer. To receive this award she needed to have the best score in the squadron.
It is hard to take photos while clapping. But I did my best. On her way back to her parade position, I saw her grin a wide, toothy grin.
Then they called on my trumpet player to present the Top Musician award. It was a surprise to my son both to receive the award and to have it presented by his father! I was able to get a priceless photo of him saluting his Dad!
After the parade we enjoyed a bbq, and then I took the kids home. My trumpet player had left already to make his tee-off time at the Grexne Cup Golf Tournament. I decided not to play this year so that the kids wouldn’t be rushed after the parade. Instead I took them home and got changed and enjoyed some time in the newly-arrived summer sun. It was the first day this year that I could sit in the shade and not be cold! I headed out in time to be at the golf course before my trumpet player finished his game. Surprisingly, his team won the tournament! Although, since my team won a couple of years ago I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised as he is a considerably better golfer than me in spite of the time he normally spends bush-wacking. He did say that he finished 3 above par – that is, 3 above HIS par, which means he finished with 3 balls more than he started with. In reality we have only won the coveted cup because we were fortunate enough to have good golfers on our teams. Once all the golfers had returned, we had a lovely evening with the band enjoying a delicious bbq steak dinner.
Sunday afternoon was the end of the busy weekend. We headed up to a nearby playground at 2, where the kids played and the teens and a few of us adults played Frisbee and basketball. My trumpet player had “won” a bag of goodies at the golf tournament, and he had the foresight to bring the hollow Frisbee along to the park. It was a beautiful warm sunny day – we couldn’t have asked for better weather for the whole weekend!
From the park we headed over to the birthday girl’s house where we enjoyed visiting, eating ice cream, and what warm summer day would be complete without a water fight? Though my trumpet player claims innocence, the whole thing was started when he put an ice cube down his daughter’s back. The rest of the afternoon became her challenge to get her Dad with water, and soon all the teenagers were involved. There were cups of water, water bottles of water, and eventually even a hose in play. By the time we walked home, both my trumpet player and my teenage daughter were soaked! It was a great way to end our first warm summer weekend.
