i'm with the band!
I get so excited in general about marching bands, live bands, any kind of bands...you name it and I just naturally get into live music. As a little bitty girl, my visits to relatives' houses always involved getting everybody gathered up and singing something. I even remember the first time my mom and dad sat me on top of the piano and said "listen to this!" And even though, I never played any instrument other than piano, I once was invited to carry the band banner when Ray Blanton was inaugurated as governor of the state of TN. I had no idea we were supposed to be solemn, so I marched in January sleet having the time of my life, waving and cheering. Needless to say, I was not invited to carry a banner or anything else EVER after that. But I did enjoy the experience, as I did other opportunities to perform, such as Stage Band, Kamala Prince and Take 5 (or was it 7?) BUT nothing compares with the excitement, anxiety, nervousness and thrill that I feel when our high school band takes the field!!! I just love it, especially that extremely talented and handsome third bass drum player!! He will be thoroughly disgusted with my gushing, but so what? They have an incredible field show that's already won them some huge trophies and I expect more from this Saturday's competition. We have an awesome band director who loves his job, his band and makes them feel like his family. HOW BLESSED we are and I just had to brag a bit about this wonderful fall experience. I think Jack is getting into it, too. Of course, it probably helps that UT is about as exciting to watch play football as watching paint dry!! No doubt we'll be there every time MCHS marches, loud and proud, and doing our best to enjoy every single second. After all, we know how fast the time goes by and we want to make the most of it. Hope all who read this can relate, even if it's not exactly your passion. The point is...spend time with your family, enjoying what they enjoy and learn to appreciate your kid's hard work. THAT'S what life is about.

labor day

I must confess...I'm always a little bit sad about Labor Day when summer begins to fade slowly like a big red sun as it sets in the evening shade. It seems that nothing is the same until May reappears....a long, long time from now. Sure, there is beauty in autumn and fun in winter holidays and freshness in spring, but I do love sunshine. Although I hate being hot, (I get really ill-tempered) bright sunshine brings out the best in me! We had such a good weekend with Whitney, Lindsey and 2 dogs in the house. We spent river time with friends on Pickwick Lake and hated to see the weekend end. Now we move on to the fall activities, i.e. TN football, high school marching band competitions, and it will be no time until it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!! It's amazing how time flies once you're an adult when it once seemed to crawl at a snail's pace when you were a child. Seems like it should just now be spring and I wonder how it will feel to my dear friend Teresa who was in a car accident July 1 and who has not been out of the hospital yet. I am so grateful for her recovery and for the prognosis now that she is in a rehab facility. So today, when I'm a bit blue, I just remember that a) I'm not in a hurricane b)I'm not suffering c) I have the gift of today to do what I choose to do d) I have been blessed with much more than I deserve.