Class 5A

Last night Jenn and her fellow guard and band members performed their last show for the season. Thought they are normally in a Class 4A classification for competing they were bumped up to compete with six other Class 5A bands. Since I had to work until 5 p.m. today, I made it down to the competition just as her class was to perform on the field.

The bands were great! They really had their work cut out for them. It was a good thing that the host band was not competing tonight as they would have been an additional threat. The most interesting and best performances of the night was by a band who were all dressed in black and white. As the musicians would turn to the music it was like an optical illusion.

Their uniforms were like a circus outfit of sorts, all black on one side, and all white on the other from head to toe. Their color guard changed outfits at least three times from white with diagonal stripes, to solid white, then to solid black. Their flags were also varied but all were black and white as was the name of the show.

The most thrilling moment of the night for Jenn was not so much the competition as it was the air gram she got as she entered the field. As the announcer read them we heard, "Jennifer, I said I was going to ask you something tonight ... will you go out with me?" Jenn is now officially no longer single. The look on her face was priceless!

Their band finished in 4th place out of seven, receiving Superior marks for a grade!

Young Love, Do You Remember the Heartbreaks?

Yesterday, I watched as my son (age 16) once again exhibited a strange behavior. I suspected he and his girlfriend were having problems and before the evening was over he ended up sharing the news. He and his girlfriend come from two different worlds in some ways. Even though they both come from broken marriage families, both her parents live nearby and dote over her. She has most everything teens have now-a-days, cell phones (yes, she has two), her license and a car, and a job. Ryan's father lives in another state, he has not seen him in more than two years (father's neglect), and since I am unable to afford the extra insurance he doesn't yet have his license. He doesn't seem to bothered by it, but deep down I am sure he wants it soon! He has a part time job in the spring officiating lacrosse games as our area doesn't have an older team for high school students. So, as you can see, his girlfriend has had to do more as a girlfriend since his resources are limited.

As he shared what had happened I watched his face turn from the hardened angry young man to a sorrowful one. He cried as he felt his heart was breaking, wanting the pain to stop. It appears that his girlfriend wanted him to get a job if he wanted to go to the prom with her. She told him if he didn't get one by this past Monday, that they would need to take a break and she would go with a guy friend to the dance instead of him. When he asked her why they needed the break, she said she would feel less guilty if they were not a couple when she goes out with the other young man.

Well, my son decided that the break needed to be for more than just a time. This was not the first time drama had entered into the relationship. I'm glad this time he made the decision to make the break and peacefully. Still, you never get used to seeing your children with a broken heart. It was nice to have him share all of this and he even listened as I explained that falling in love and risking getting hurt is all a part of life no matter what your age. I think he realized that I really did know how he was feeling and understood what he was going through.

For now, he will hopefully sink his energy into his school work and finish his SAE project early this time! Young love ... the heartbreak and the recovery!