Oh Tim, Oh Tim, Oh Tim!

Yeah baby. The mom-leaves-home-to-pretend-for-a-few-hours-she's-with-the-band tour continues! Actually, it's pretty funny when your teenager says "Mom, you are going to another concert??" Funny. Yes, she is honey. Last night we saw Tim McGraw, the Band Perry and Luke Bryan at the Comcast Center in Mansfield. Thanks to Julie who snagged us tickets to the pre-show party. So much fun!!

The Band Perry are a brother/sister band "if I die young, bury me in satin, lay me down on a bed of roses..." they were great! Lots of mandolin which I have taken a liking to especially because my son plays one.

And then Tim McGraw came on to an absolutely adoring audience. Me included.

When he played his "anthem" Live Like You Were Dying, there was so much energy and feeling bouncing between Tim McGraw and the audience and then back again that it was really something. It was an awesome connection between performer and audience.

Oh Hydrangea!

This hydrangea bush is about 3 years old. Usually it turns pink with just a hint of blue. This year, it started to bloom showing the most beautiful shades of lilac, lavender and blue. It is a delight!

The only thing I did differently is that I actually ran out of plant food and so all it's gotten is plain water. Perhaps that's the reason? Hmmm. Will have to ask a garden expert.

Happy Mid-Summer, ya'll.

Oh Happy Day

Yes, what is more anticipated and is more (freaking) work for the parents than preparing for, driving with, driving to, paying for, and last but not least sitting in the back seat of your own car while your kid tentatively takes the driving test with a very serious guy and a check list in the passenger seat. I just brought a magazine and kept my head down.

And yesterday he ran to the mailbox and lo and behold, it held a plastic card, small in diameter but quite large in impact. Good luck, Carter. Drive defensively. Don't rush. No texting. Don't talk on the phone. Never drink and drive or get into the car with anyone who has. Forget about road rage.

Now go get your mother a large iced coffee with caramel syrup.

First Day of Summer Vacation

Carter doesn't let a few raindrops ruin his hammock happiness. He just pulled it up off the grass onto the deck and made himself quite comfortable and dry under the canopy. Lemonade anyone?

Kinda Happy Kinda Sad

That's what Ronan said to me yesterday on his birthday. He was thrilled, of course, that it was FINALLY his 10th birthday and anticipating a certain DS game...which rules his life these days. But he said he is sad that school is ending because Mrs. Lydecker is "the best teacher I ever had". And boy I agree.

Teachers have personalities just like kids. And every kid needs something different from a teacher. In 4th grade with Mrs. Lydecker, Ronan learned how to be a student, take direction and know consequences. He learned how to quilt and what the inside of a geode looked like. He learned about the Pilgrims and the Mayflower and that Wyoming is home to the first national park in America, Yellowstone! And he told me that before he dies he wants to see the Aurora Borealis. (He's not dying).

So mister dog, enjoy this sweet calm. In just a few hours, it's game on for the next 2 1/2 months ; )

Go Forth Young Man

We made it through finals, graduation, prom and all that pomp and circumstance. He won both the Math Award and Band Award, prouda you, kid! Then the high school graduate headed off to his chosen school for course selection for a couple of days. For the first time he flew alone, navigated a transfer, found the Amtrak station, found the college bus and stayed alone in a hotel. I guess he's not a little boy anymore.

(actually I can still remember the absolute thrill two girlfriends and I had at 18 years old going to DisneyWorld for a week after high school - however when I think of where we stayed - right next to the Baskin-Robbins, not so great!)

So he leaves the Red&Black high school colors behind and jumps right in to Orange&Navy his new college colors. What a mom to do if Orange isn't her color? I will have to figure something out!

Musical Weekend

Ah yes, I jumped in again and on Friday night and reprised my role as "Madame Salzana - Fortune Teller" for this year's New Orleans Night at the high school. It is a band run evening where we serve gumbo and other Southern favorites, have music on the balcony, mimes, face-painters and a fortune teller ; ) How lucky I was to have such a great assistant in Madame Kaitlin who read people's "auras". We have fun!

After the festivities there is a wonderful performance in the Performing Arts Center by the percussion, jazz and concert bands. Although the boys have been in band together all of these years, I couldn't remember them sitting next to year other before so I took the opportunity to take a zillion pictures of them because (lump in throat) there are only a few times Brady will play on that stage again. This time of year the list of "lasts" that the seniors will do seems to be gaining every day. It is hard to take as I had heard and read about. They have to go and you have to be happy for them even though you get kinda sad for you.
Saturday I drove 90 minutes to the Percussion Finals in Dartmouth, Mass. Never having been to Dartmouth, I did wonder how you could drive 90 minutes in this little state and still not be at the end! But I was impressed, it was a very nice town. Seeing our kids enjoying what they do and seeing my son putting his hip-swaying jazzy spin on the xylophone was really great. Although the BPO (band parents organization) bleeds red & black (school colors) a lot with the hours required to support the parades, competitions, football games, etc. it has given my sons such a framework from which to build. They have made wonderful friends, felt like the band room is their "second home" and learned dedication, commitment and how to iron a shirt.

After a stop at Dunks and ok, yes, a package of Devil Dogs ~ I'm not proud ~ I headed back down the road to Reading. A little ominous, dark and cloudy, but Adele and Jason Aldean made the 90 minute ride home fly by.