Javalina is going to 8th grade and is still doing both band and football, which he can. This week, they are having band camp which has been a fight to the death every day. He does not like leaving the house in the middle of the day to go to school for a couple hours. It has been rough for me to get up when I should still be asleep, but I think it is worth it, if for nothing else, to get him out of the house and interacting with his peers. He already made some sort of deal with Wife that if he goes all week, he will get a break on Friday and stay home. Right now I am saying OK to shut him up, but we will see how things are going on Friday.
He is not the only one going strong in the band. Our niece who is going up to high school this year, is a freshman and is having technically "three a days". This sounds rough, rehearsals at 8:00-11:00am, lunch break, more rehearsals from 1:00-4:00pm, and then marching practice from 6:00-9:00pm. I thought this sounded like a lot, but Mom reminded me that I lived for this. I spent more time in the band hall than at home, when I could. This time of year was great, although I was a saxophone player, during marching season, I was switched over to the drumline and then I played the tri toms which was really freaking awesome, I loved it. There was a camaraderie with the drummers and it was almost an annoying itch to be constantly hitting the drums throughout a football game, keeping beat during practices, keeping beat during marches in parades. It really felt like a non-stop party, I still miss all the hoopla, but I just let it go.
I know this is not the same as football practice where there is contact and people would get hurt and not even in games. But being in band took a lot out of a person. It is a huge obligation that cannot be taken lightly. Last year, Javalina got the chance to go with the Akins High School Band and Wife and I went and sat in the bleachers behind him. I wrote about the game and how disappointed I was in the parents who don't show up, but the band was in full swing. We could see our boy mixing it up and playing and having fun in the stands with other kids. To me, that is what high school is all about, being a part of the machine. Find your niche and enjoy everything because it only lasts a little while. I have no regrets about how I passed my time in high school and I hope my boys can say the same thing when they are my age.
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