Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Shoveling Out & Growing Up

*disclaimer: This is a catch up post, in stream-of-consciousness format.
Don't try to understand my flow. Just go with it.
I don't do it often here; but sometimes, I just let it go where it will.*

We had a fabulous weekend together, in the midst of the second biggest snowstorm our region has seen in recorded history. The kids played in the snow (reminding my of just why I despise snow gear), The Boss shoveled, the neighbors chatted and gratefully accepted the help of stronger, younger backs. And I cooked. I made cookies. I made soup. I made bread, I made Chinese pudding. When it was all said and done, we got 14" of the white stuff and the REST of The Gang probably worked off every single home-made, scrumptious calorie they took in that day. Me? "Not so much," thus sayeth my jeans.

I took it a little easier on my culinary self for our SuperBowl spread, "making" some decidedly "low brow" chips & dip platters and frozen treats. It was polished off mostly before the half-time show even started. Oh, and what a great game, wasn't it? All the intensity of two well-matched teams and the excitement of seeing New Orleans finally have something wonderful to celebrate. It's been said over and over, but seriously, who didn't have even just a little tiny "Go Saints!" whispering in their heart of hearts?!

As I sit here, typing today's post, we're gearing up for yet another whopper of a storm. This one is looking to be a bit more ominous: a wet, heavy type of snow is being fore-casted, followed by strong gusting winds. Might make for some "crippling" conditions for a day or so. The "middles" of The Gang are especially excited because this one is actually taking place in the middle of a school week, threatening to derail all their teachers' well-laid lesson plans and give the whole region a blessed day off of leisure. It was supposed to be a busy week week for The Gang. In fact, last night's dress rehearsal for LadyBug's Wind Ensemble morphed by 4 p.m. into the real deal concert. This, after tremendous machinations and behind the scenes plottings in an attempt to let the kids have their moments in the spotlight. It was a well-executed evening and I chuckled a little at how overjoyed the band directors seemed to be in thwarting "Mother Nature's" efforts at messing with their beloved ensemble performances.

LadyBug performed in her very first public concert last night and handled herself with her usual grace and aplomb. Honestly, I don't know where she gets her steady, "take it as it comes" demeanor. She took the news of the big change in schedule with relative calm (exclaiming only that those new pants MUST be hemmed NOW!). After dinner, she dressed herself in her new concert outfit (Thanks to a big bargain scored at Se@rs & Ch!ldren's Pl@ce!), let me do her hair and didn't once show a bit of tremor or nerves. Sheesh, if it were me, I'd have been sweating. Or something much worse. Instead, she just went up on stage with her band-mates and did her thing. I mean, she may look just like me, but that demeanor? I take it back. I know where she gets it. It's all The Boss. All the way.

After her portion of the concert was over, we sat together in the back of the auditorium enjoying the time alone together and the beautiful music from the other ensembles from the district. And again, I had to stop and admire my girl: she was picking out the different instruments, describing to me in hushed whispers the degrees of difficulty that certain notes required, and asking intelligent questions about the historical significance of some of the pieces. I can't believe in all the hustle bustle we forgot to take pictures of her big night. I can't believe how scattered I felt and how calm she was. I can't believe how grown up she was last night. I'm not at all sure I like it. In fact, I think I don't.

The Boss summed it up well when she came down all dressed in her concert finery. He told her that she looked very pretty. And very grown up. And that she will never be wearing that outfit again.

*Who am I kidding? Stream of consciousness is the norm around here.
So I take that back too. *

2 comments:

Dawn said...

I appreciated your angst over your daughter growing up way to fast. I took one of my daughters shopping for her first dance. She found a beautiful dress that wasn't too grown up looking. The only shoes we could find on sale had steeper heels than she's ever worn, but not too outrageous. Her dad told her how pretty she looked, and then in private asked me how I could have possibly let her buy those shoes. "They made her look way too grown up. What in the world was I thinking!!" :-) He then told her that surely it was a Father-Daughter dance.

Aus said...

Morning - it's still early - but not 'as' early! Cudo's to the bug on her abilities and poise! I rather enjoy the spotlight like that - a weakness in my personality! Glad ya'll are surviving the 'white death' - we are wrapping up storm #2 and waiting for #3 to start on Sunday sometime! Finally - I have to agree with the boss on the outfit - (not having seen it - but I'm a dad) she can wear it again when she is 20 something!

hugs - aus and co.