This Summer...The Sweet Life

Song, I'll Stay With You
By Cadia
(I can't seem to make links work, today. I can't copy or paste. And I'd planned on writing about things being "simpler and easier these days. Maybe not technology)

Life seems a little bit easier this summer.
We are getting more done around the farm. Not a lot, but more.

Yesterday we expanded the pasture and I ripped wallpaper off of the dining room walls. Today I picked out a color for the paint!

Last year I was on my feet at work and my shifts varied. There wasn't much left of me once I arrived home. It was difficult to make plans.

The summer before that were working through the process of selling the cottage. We are still managing three properties, but there's somehow less to manage...this year, for a change, there's only one lawn to focus on (for the first time in over 20 years).

I think God knew just how much we could handle then, and now. As I'm mowing and planting these days, I'm enjoying the sweetness of a little bit slower pace.

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"Uncle"

Amid the concerts, practices, and parades, I've had two things on my mind.

1. It's so very sweet to spend time with my cousins. Their father was one of my favorite uncles and, as children, we shared many adventures, mostly by the lake. Now, they are aunts and uncles to my children...fixing their training wheels, listening to their college plans, or setting fire to a pile of old porch wood they had torn down together.

I'm grateful that, despite the fact that we live many miles apart, we are still a family.

2.I lost my Mom two years ago. She was someone who gave me solid parenting advice, who checked in on us during severe weather events, and who always asked if there was something we needed when she was heading to the store.

Perhaps because she used to say, "Good job," I'm struck when I hear this (once in a great while) from an older woman. And it reminds me of how much I miss hearing it from her.

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"I Wanna Be Like You"

I'd like to consider where we are, musically, as a family.

N, who is 15, entered a solo festival this past weekend. He had to travel by bus for a couple of hours, and then sing, accompanied by a piano, in front of a judge. He had chosen a piece that was rated "level 5" in difficulty. The highest difficulty rating is 6, usually reserved for college musicians. He scored a 100%!!! One of his peers, a fellow high school student from our home town (daughter of a Grammy winner), brought the judge to tears with her beautiful voice and flawless performance.

N's Mens Select Ensemble will sing with/for a prestigious Music School that is performing in our town this weekend.

W, who is 8, recently started to take piano lessons from the wife of a local youth pastor. She happens to be the same piano teacher for the children of the above-mentioned Grammy winner also (although I'm not trying to play the 7 steps removed game, I promise).

On the first day she presented W with three lesson books and a rigid practice schedule. Since he is also enamored of athletics, I wasn't sure about that jagged little practice pill. Amazingly, he loves it! And, he has asked his older brother to show him how to compose music on the computer.

His older brother (J, 17) had to create two "fake" emails in order to register a second and a third "Note Flight" account that he uses for composition. He has written pages and pages of scores. Just yesterday J took the AP exam in Music Theory (and just today he announced that he is currently first in his class. Woo hoo!)

W, the 8 year old, has been invited to play in the church orchestra for the first time (his two older brothers already play in the "Band of Renown." W might play the "tangerine," as he has been prone to say. (the tambourine)

This house full of musicians is, well, loud. When I came home this afternoon W was banging on the drums (wearing ear protection, phew!). I could hear the drums as I drove in. Then, when I got out of the car, up the steps, and into the kitchen, he popped out from behind the counter and yelled, "boo," as if I couldn't tell by the drums that he was home.

In the car we listen to show tunes and Disney, which leads me to my last thought.

I've often wondered what other mothers, especially those who have parented famous musicians, have endured. I enjoy imagining the home of The Sherman Brothers, for instance.

I Wanna Be Like You by The Jungle Book

Now I'm the king of the swingers
Oh, the jungle VIP
I've reached the top and had to stop
And that's what botherin' me
I wanna be a man, mancub
And stroll right into town
And be just like the other men
I'm tired of monkeyin' around!

Oh, oobee doo
I wanna be like you
I wanna walk like you
Talk like you, too
You'll see it's true
An ape like me
Can learn to be human too

"He LOves His Life"

At the end of the semester we run oral presentations in class. Many students talk about their families while they show pictures in a slide show.

This year one particularly beautiful young lady (she remindsme of a young Janis Joplan with wild blind hair), showed the class a picture of her siblings.

The slide came up and it was as if a strong wind blew over all of the guys in the class. They all lost their balance.

Lined up were five stunningly attractive sisters.

I asked what life was likefor her father, thinking he must constantly be on guard.

"Oh, " she replied assuredly, "he loves his life."

She said it as if she had heard him say the same. No sarcasm. No pride. Just a genuine adoration and sense of gratitude.

I hope that I reflect, and say, the same. In spite of the messes and the frequent small frustrations, I LOVE my life.

I love my family, my job, and this country. I am truly blessed.

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Bittersweet

Two hours into the "Stars of Tomorrow" contest/showcase, our cast hadn't been recognized in a single category. We were sad for them, because we knew the quality of their work.

The curtain rose on their "Beauty and The Beast Medley" and they burst into action, performing the dance number from "No one Fights Like Gaston, " a tavern scene choreographed with clinking mugs, bar brawls, and stomping. The crowd was amazed; they cheered and clapped louder than they had all night.

But our kids weren't done. Beast and Belle sang a powerful duet and then the cast waltzed and sang to "Be Our Guest." The student orchestra played flawlessly.

The costumes they re-rented from Disney looked magical.

They brought it...energy, professionalism, talent.

The crowd went wild. The announcer was left speechless until he muttered, "wow."

We ran into the boys and the director in the hallway. Mr. S looked very proud, an emotion he doesn't often let show.

We don't know why the judges didn't recognize the cast, but we were there when they "showed the world their stuff!"

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Stars of Tomorrow, on Stage, Tomorrow

The Stars of Tomorrow, sponsored by The Broadway Theater League, is a competition that recognizes outstanding student casts, tech crews and orchestras as well as individual student actors and actresses.

The top prize is a large scholarship and a trip to NYC to learn from professionals on Broadway.

Our two oldest boys will compete tomorrow.

We are going into the city to watch the show.

Tickets were expensive. Even our "way in the back of the balcony" seats. Mr. WestberryDad drove downtown during his lunch hour to pick them up.

We are excited to go to the historic theater where the event is held.

We're looking forward to watching The Stars of Tomorrow, tomorrow.

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