Oh, My Legs...

I walked, walked, and walked some more yesterday.

As per a previous blog entry, I went to Santa Cruz with the marching band yesterday. It was a great day, and I'm glad I tagged along. For starters, the weather was gorgeous--sunny, blue skies, temperatures in the 70s all day. The kids were in good spirits and everyone had a great time.

We left the school at about 8:15, arriving in Santa Cruz a little after 10:00. The kids started getting uniforms on and unloading instruments. I helped my drum kids get sorted out a little, and even carried an extra bass drum (not particularly heavy but those harnesses HURT!) for a few feet.

After warming up, the band stood in formation while waiting for their turn to go. One highlight at this point was an adorable little girl emulating the marching bands that passed by. She was in black pants, a white shirt with a little red plaid tie, and a black vest. A red and black marching hat was perched crookedly on her head. She stood at perfect attention with a recorder in her hands. She couldn't have been more than 6 years old, and she was adorable. The band moms and I all went gooey over the sight. At one point she ran into a nearby house, so I assume she lives there and was showing her excitement over the visiting bands.

The parade route covers a good couple of miles and includes many different sections the students have to pass through. The first is Inspection, where they stand at attention and a judge inspects uniforms, how straight the lines are, etc. After inspection, they march a little ways, playing the march one time. Then they enter the competition zone, where they are judged for their overall march--music, marching, formations, color guard, etc.

Finally we entered the drum line zone, where my drum kids (many of them didn't play in the band march, and a couple of girls are also on color guard, so they had to run over and join the drum line very quickly, grabbing their bass drums from some awesome band parents who carried them all that way for them).

This was the part where I felt like a nervous momma! Larry laughed at me because I was standing on my toes with my fingers crossed, looking worried.

Can I just say that my kids were AWESOME? They played their song, "Walk the Walk," better than they've ever done it, and the countless hours of hard work they've put in, both in class and after school, really paid off. I wanted to shout out, "That's MY drum line!!!" I refrained, but I did cheer like mad when they were done.

Unfortunately they didn't place in the drum line category at awards, because there are bigger drum lines playing harder music...but what we all took away from it is that they beat their own personal best, and exceeded the goals they had set for themselves. So all in all, it was a great day.

And I think they liked having me there. : )

We finally marched down Front Street (by the beach and Boardwalk), playing the march and a few drum cadences for the happy crowd there, before finally making it back to the busses.

I waited with Larry while all the kids got their instruments and uniforms put away, then we set off for the pier to find a good restaurant for lunch. We were both hot, sweaty, exhausted and famished. We pretty much inhaled our lunches. When the bill came I pulled out my wallet and he said, "No, this one's on me." I gave him my patented "one-eyebrow-raised-make-the-students-shudder" look, and he put his fists up and said, "Believe me, I know what your paycheck looks like. Besides, I want to thank you for coming today." : P He won, so I gratefully accepted a free lunch.

After this he had a band director's meeting so I furthered the workout my legs were getting by walking along the beach and the boardwalk. I got about halfway down the boardwalk and decided to turn back. Well, the park is pretty crowded, and I hate crowds. I considered my options: I could weave my way through the crowds, making slow progress and dealing with all the idiots who steer strollers into my legs or stop directly in front of me for absolutely no reason. Or, I could make somewhat slow progress on the beach, with fewer people to deal with.

I chose the beach. My thighs need toning, anyway.

Pretty soon it was time for awards. We didn't get any trophies but apparently the scores were higher than they've been, so Larry was pleased with the progress. I high-tailed it out of awards a few minutes before the end to avoid the massive crush of everyone leaving, making it back to the bus in relative peace.

The best part of the day was being able to show my drum kids some love. They're a great bunch--genuinely nice kids--and I was so proud of them. They in turn, seemed happy that I came along. They all seemed eager to hear what I thought of their performance. One of the band boosters even thanked me for coming, saying, "It means a lot to the kids that you're here--and it means a lot to us parents that you'd make the effort to come." Her son is not in drum line, but her daughter is in one of my choirs, so that was nice.

It was a great day--I fell into bed last night, exhausted, but I'm so glad I tagged along on the trip. I think it will further strengthen the relationship I have with the drum kids, so when it comes time for Winter Drum Line (which I'll be solely in charge of, as it's not affiliated with the band), we will have a trust in place already.

And with their work ethic and strong group dynamic, I don't see why we can't bring home a few trophies while we're at it. : )