the b*ching is over --- for now

i wanted to write about something i'm likely not to whine about. excuse my posts as of late.

i recently caught up on some blogs, & came across swistle's post about her son's musical instrument choice. & i say: YAY!

i also played clarinet growing up, & it was the best thing i could've ever done. i was very anti-athletic. i've often wondered which came first: my apparent lack of athleticism, or the apparent lack of opportunity for athleticism. i'd never enrolled in soccer, softball, t-ball or whatever. why??? to this day i throw like a girl. & i catch like a baby. i wonder if i could've had these skills had my parents given me the opportunity.

anyway- apparently the thing to do in lil' ol' selma, al was to join the band. all my friends were in it. the popular kids. everyone. i liked the 6 week stint i had in the 6th grade. (very clever of them to have us try out each elective...)

i didn't really know what i wanted to play. i had a friend who played flute. and 1 who played clarinet. since my parents were able to get a used clarinet from my brother-in-law's brother, that's what i got. and i loved it!

so in 7th grade, i started practicing quite horribly. i learned how to finger the notes from my friend amy. i mottled thru whatever was given. but i enjoyed it. it's something you can do on your own & at the same time add to a group.

i enjoyed my first band director: gerald buford. (wonder where he is these days?)
he was funny & a lot of fun. god, what a saint. i bet he secretly had earplugs fitted so we couldn't see them. can you imagine being a band director during the first year we all learned to play??

i know it drove my parents crazy. and i was just one lousy instrumentalist.

however, i'm very proud of my clarinet days. & i defend my "band geek" status. i was only called that by my family anyway. ('cept now The Mr. likes to get in on it).
i made tons 'o friends, learned a new skill, traveled all over & did something with time. i can't imagine if i did nothing. & i got pretty good at it, too.

i didn't play in college. i actually had a freak accident that hindered my ability to play for a while. but a few years ago, i tried to pick it up again & took some lessons to remind myself. but it's not like i was going to have the time & willingness to get really good at it, since there's no way for me to be involved with it. so i stopped.

it's on display in my bedroom along w/ my favorite sheet music for my favorite song: chorale prelude in e flat.

so for our wedding, we had a quartet play as well as for the cocktail hour (that we didn't get to hear). and this weekend, when the twins down the street asked us to support their band fundraiser, i said OF COURSE. when i heard they both played clarinet, well- i just beamed with pride! ok. maybe not. but still.

i miss it. sometimes i think about picking it up again. i kept meaning to play for the little bean when i was pregnant. i wonder what she'd do if i play it for her now. maybe i'll find out. and if the little bean wants to get in on this game, i'll totally defend her band geek status as well!