Band Days

Once upon a time many, many years ago, there was band. Thee band. Thee marching band. Band was my life. It's where all my friends congregated and spent just about every waking hour apart from school. It was all that really mattered. It was full of drama and excitement; heartache and misery--and everyone who was in it, loved it. You just weren't in band if you didn't love it. There was band camp, band trips, band competitions. There were football games, state fair...but mostly practice. Practice, practice, practice! Practice marching, practice playing. Then there was practice twirling and practice throwing. That came after the instruments lost their glitter and shine and flags and rifles took their place. I have so many memories from band I could write a book. And what a book, THAT would be.


Though we all moved on from high school band, the joy that it brought remains (even over the misery!) and I find myself signing my son up for beginning band! Now, in many ways I've been waiting for this for years. My parents did own a music store, after all. My children could and would have their choice of ANY instrument in the joint.

Little did I know that the very week he was to choose an instrument, my father would begin the process of closing the music store after nearly 50 years in business. The sinking feeling set in. Now I would have to go through what every other band parent has ever endured: picking one instrument and sticking to it! So, he chose the trombone. It's a good fit. He is tall and has very long arms. His grandpa played the trombone. And if you went to high school with me, you know who ELSE played trombone! (And it wasn't me.)


Now, this is not his mother's band! This is a homeschool band. Much, much smaller. Way less drama! The band director is such a sweet gal. They'll be meeting once a week throughout the year. My son was very excited that the first handout spoke of playing music to the glory of God! He keeps asking me if he'll be good at playing the trombone. My days in the music store have taught me that no instrument is easy to learn, but the benefits are endless! With practice, he'll be a fine trombone player. I hope that he remembers that 1st handout and always plays for the glory of God. If he does, he can't possibly fail!