Trials and Tribulations of a Band Parent

Yes, I know that James has only been in the band for less than six months, but I am not sure if I am cut out to be a band parent.

These six months have been wonderful for James, as he has truly enjoyed playing the saxophone. For me, on the other hand, it has been a stressful experience, and it has nothing to do with the home practice sessions of the budding musician.

We started out trying to save some money to make sure that James would like playing the saxophone, by having him use my brother Dave's old one. In hindsite that may have been a mistake. After numerous visits to the music store to get the proper song book and reeds, the maintenance aspect of using an older instrument kicked in.

For a period of time it seemed that something new was wrong with the saxophone every single day. As fast as I could repair one item, a new issue popped up the next day. Finally a large piece broke off that I had to take to work to get the maintenance department to reattach.

Finally James declared that his teacher told him that he needed a new saxophone.

Fortunately the school has lent him a tenor saxophone to use for the rest of the year. Low and behold, soon after it breaks down also and goes into the music shop. There is sat and sat and sat as the Winter Concert approached. On the day of the concert after many nervous emails (from Michelle) to the teacher, his saxophone was repaired and returned.

On the much happier side, his Winter Concert was wonderful and the 6th grade band was very impressive. James could not have been any happier. He looked pretty sharp in his suit also.

He certainly has enjoyed the band experience far more that I ever would have guessed. He has made great progress and he likes playing the saxophone and he likes his teacher.

Check out the video clips of his concert, in the video section of the page. They did a great job.

...now if being a band parent wasn't so difficult...

After more than 25 years I discover that Winter Camping is still cold

Hello again! Before I start my revelation about the experiences of camping in a tent when it is below freezing, I want to share some learnings about the difficulty of keeping good habits.

I've decided that writing and blogging is a good habit that I am trying to keep. This is a great way to share family happenings and stay in touch. Ive also decided that this is a lot like dieting. You know that it is a good thing that you are doing, and when you are keeping to it on a regular basis it is not to hard to stick to. BUT...If you take a break from it for even little bit, then it becomes very difficult to get back on the wagon and get yourself into the good habit routine.

Today Iam trying to get myself back into the good habit routine.

So back to the topic at hand....Camping When It is Below Freezing.

A week ago, (you see, time lags when you get out of the good habits), James and I went camping with two patrols from Troop 42. This was a special campout that only included the youngest scouts and focused on completing some necessary requirements for their early ranks. We had 10 boys and 2 others adults besides myself.

We spent two nights at camp Cherokee, which had a much different look to it, compared to how it appeared during Summer camp. We had the entire camp to ourselves for the weekend.

The boys learned about First Aid and we spent time practicing fire starting skills and teaching boys how to cook over camp stoves and campfires. The pace of the campout was not rushed, because we didn't have to really be anywhere at a special time.

Aside from the twentysome degree nights, it was a really nice way to spend the weekend.

It wasn't the extreme cold that I remember from years ago during the Polar Bear Campouts with snow on the ground in Ohio, but it was still cold enough to bring back many of those memories. We all bundled up and made it through the nights, with plenty of hot chocolate and hand warmers to keep us warm.

We wore pleny of layers and James and I broke out our new warm fleece long underwear and doubled up our sleeping bags at night. Toasty might not be the right word, but we weren't cold.

I am glad I did not have to camp in the cold again this weekend, but I can still say that I had a good time and I will do it yet again in the future.

As we reach the end of the year, I will focus my efforts on keeping my good habits and setting my New Year's resolutions to keep at it.

until next time.......