Yesterday evening, as I was on my way to my second band booster meeting, I dialed the number of a friend.
Her husband answered, “Hello.”
“Hi Friend’s Hubster. Is your better half available?” I asked.
“No, she’s at a soccer booster meeting.”
THUD.
My half-heart fell. (Remember that the other half is in Lakeland with Chicky.)
Someone was having a soccer booster meeting…
Without me.
I wasn’t even invited for old times’ sake.
Here today, gone tomorrow.
Do you know how many years I have been attending soccer meetings?
Like, forever and a day.
I have been involved with the intimate workings ever since Chicky started playing travel soccer. Thus, I’ve spent the last 10+ years growling and, once, even barking…don’t ask her about this…she’ll roll her eyes. It was not one of my finer moments.
But band moms don’t growl, and they sure don’t tell the kids to kick butt. I found that out the hard way during the first game I attended last year.
As I started to shout out something fierce, I caught myself and changed it to something like, “Bang those cymbals together really hard.”
Ahem.
Anyhoo…
As I parked the car, I saw my friend, Barbara, the Most Amazing Teacher EVER.
We walked in together, with me bemoaning the fact that someone was having a soccer meeting without me.
“Suck it up girl. You are a band mom,” she replied with absolutely no sympathy in her voice.
“But, but, the band thing…I don’t do band meetings,” I said.
“Well, you do now,” she said.
In other words, pull up my big girl undies and deal.
Thanks, Barb. I can always count on you to tell me like it is.
heehee
You know I love her. We all need a friend who will whip us into shape when we need it.
So, I went in, a trifle afraid because I don’t understand the inner workings of band.
All I know is that you can’t stand in the bleachers and yell, “Kick their butts.”
Band kids don’t do this.
That’s the job of the football players.
Chicky is, basically, a female football player.
Anyhoo…
When I walked in, I saw a couple of people I knew. One was the mom of one of Chicky’s high school teammates. She has a younger daughter who is on the dance line.
What a sense of relief!!
We chatted, and then I noticed another gal sitting at another table.
I knew in an instant it was a new friend, Janet, who only recently began commenting on my blog. Her family attends my church. We’ve met once, but I fear that my brain was in one of those “mom fogs,” and so I only have a vague memory of the meeting (sorry Janet!!).
Her son is on drum line with Rooster.
I walked over, and she formally introduced herself to me.
What an absolute sweetheart!! Surely we had not said more than two words to each other before now, because I know I would have remembered her!!!
Seriously!
I’m not just saying this because she reads my blog.
She has a sweet, Southern voice that I could listen to all day.
We made small talk before she handed me something…
A button…
Yes, dear readers, I have my own drumline mom button!!!
I am so excited, and I am not being sarcastic when I say that!!
I started to put it on, but she told me I could wait until the first game.
I chuckled.
My brain is in a fog…the fog of lesson planning.
I pulled the button off while we talked for a few more minutes. Then, I took my leave and had a seat beside the soccer mom I had seen earlier.
I was happy. I felt comfortable. This is a novel feeling for me, because I tend to be very nervous in new situations.
Yay!
I got up to hand in candy money (don’t you just love fundraisers…not).
The band director made his way over to me.
He remembered me from last school year when I appeared in his office and sheepishly admitted to a lack of participation because of Chicky’s heavy soccer schedule. I had also called him a few days ago when Rooster’s class schedule came out…band was not on it, and I was not happy.
Nor was he.
We talked, and it felt good to know that someone actually cared enough to remember what I’d said.
Heck, some days I’d like to forget the stuff I say.
heehee
I sat back down when it looked like the meeting was about to begin.
And so it went.
You know something?
I never once checked my watch.
Actually, I wasn’t wearing one, but I didn’t check the time on my phone either.
The hour passed quickly, and before I knew it, I was headed home.
I survived my second band meeting.
It wasn’t the torture I remembered the first meeting to be.
Perhaps I’ll attend another one.
Barbara would be proud.
Filed under: children | Tagged: parenting | 1 Comment »
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