It's Okay--I'm With the Band

September 19, 2010

Earlier this month, Doug and I attended our second high school reunion of the year. The first one was in July, and even though it was my 25th reunion and we had a great time, the one in September was an especially meaningful one. Call us band geeks if you will, but a reunion of all of our band mates from our high school days was much more a family reunion than a gathering of scores of people who happened to pass each other in the halls on the way to Geometry during a particular year. These were the people we spent hours and hours with every week and really got to know as we practiced and worked and laughed and cried and competed. Some of us spent all four years of high school in the band program, and some spent only one or two years learning all the intricate elements that went into putting on an incomparable show on the field, but all of us truly became family through a shared commitment and desire to succeed.

Leading us all was the visionary and director of our band during those years, Mel Stratton, who was on hand at the reunion to be honored by all of us who appreciate even more as adults with the benefit of time and perspective the amazing and undeniably unique experience we had under his guidance. (It is testament to his influence the sheer numbers of his students who went on to become great band teachers in their own right.) Call it being at the right place at the right time, if you will; I feel incredibly fortunate to have found my way into this group, this family, at that time in history. I would be willing to bet it would be difficult to find a member of Mel's band from those years who wouldn't be able to recount some way that our band, our family away from home, made a lasting impact on their lives.

Patty and Mel Stratton, Shirley Claybaugh Weaver and Jim Claybaugh

Trina, Shannon, and Me

Jim and Kirsten
My day uniform from my freshman year. Sadly, I do not fit in that thing anymore. I find it a little hard to believe I ever did.
Doug, trying on his old uniform. Nope, he doesn't fit anymore, either.

Kris McGraw Pauley and Me
Bill Murray and Kris
Lisa, David Rubacalba, and Me
My hubby and me--a former band couple who reunited later in life.
Jeff Lee and Me
Marty and Judy--another band couple success story.
Mel, Me, Lisa, and Patty
The Reunion Gang

Former Drum Major Brad Riley. Nice Salute, Brad!
Mel Stratton--funny, charming, and still a true leader after all these years.
Mel and John Hackney, Assistant Director Extraordinaire
Doug and Di Hoskins
Mike Donaghy and Me--I love Mike!
Annette and Todd, Maria and Mike (Another Band Couple!)
Brady and Me. Brady and my sister were inseparable in high school, so he was like my brother.
Lisa and Brady
Bill Murray and Renee Brown
Jim and Lisa
My Sis and Me
Bill, Lisa, and Me
Doug, surrounded by Rosa, Alicia, and Me. He's kind of in his happy place, even though he doesn't actually look like it right now.
Rosa and Doug
Doug, Darren, and Jim
Shannon and Trina
The Jones Twins! Kris and Kelly
Alicia (Lisa), Rosa, Me, Kris, Kelly, and Lisa

Another Me 'n Ed's Pizza Night

September 19, 2010

We got quite a few friends to come out and join us for another Me 'n Ed's pizza night. I just love it when we can all hang out at a family-friendly place and let the kids all have fun together while the grown-ups all catch up with each other.

Back in the Saddle

August 31, 2010

After bowing out of soccer last year, Nicholas has made his return to the field. He had already decided he was done after his 6th grade year, mainly because he thought chances of him making the junior high soccer team weren't all that strong. Although he's strong and has a pretty powerful kick, he simply doesn't have the speed of some of his counterparts. He loves playing and being a part of the team, but he's not particularly competitive, and he figured that would probably end his career. When he broke his foot just before last year's soccer season, even the idea of trying to coax him into trying out became a moot point, and we accepted that his last year of elementary school was his swan's song.

This year, though, when I was looking online to find registration information for Danielle, I discovered that there was a recreational league for boys Nicholas' age and up. I hadn't realized that there was an alternative to the school teams, so I casually mentioned it to Nicholas. His eyes immediately lit up, and he said, "THAT sounds like fun!" It turns out, he really missed it, but was still intimidated by the idea of not making the cut for the team. "Rec. league means everybody gets to play, right?" When I assured him he would be able to play if he wanted, he quickly asked me to register him. Just like that, my boy was a soccer player again.

This past Thursday at practice, Nicholas' coach informed us that the first game would take place on Saturday in Hanford. Hanford?? That's almost an hour away! When I registered Nicholas, I asked about the location for the team and was told they would be either at the park a block away from my house or on the fields by my school. Perfect, I thought. Soccer season would be easy! But no. What I discovered was that the practices would be held at those local fields, but that our boys would be playing teams from neighboring cities, and often our games would necessitate drives of half an hour to an hour. Had I know that, knowing also that I will have to get Danielle to her local games once her season begins, I might not have been so hasty to sign him up. I'm glad I did, because Nicholas gets so much out of being on the team, but my goodness, it's going to get tricky trying to manage soccer games in two different cities each week. Different fields is hard enough! Nevertheless, I tried not to think too hard about the logistical issues in the coming weeks and just focused on watching Nicholas play his first real game in two years.
At the beginning of the game, Nicholas was on the sidelines, cheering on his teammates. Then suddenly, Coach gave him the signal and he ran out to the field...to forward. Forward? Seriously? Nicholas had never been a forward! His position of choice was goalie. He spent a good deal of time at defender as well, and even at mid-fielder every now and again. But forward? That was definitely new. And yet, in his handful of minutes in the position, he managed to make a goal assist. Then he was pulled off the field to get ready to go in as goalie, where he make several very impressive saves before the final whistle. Our kids came out victorious with a final score of 4-1. It was a very exciting game!
After the game, we took advantage of the locale and headed to the famous Superior Dairy, where we met up with Kim and Tim and their kids to indulge in some unbelievably huge servings of ice cream. Nicholas and Chris took on the ultimate challenge of the S.O.S. dish, and they attacked it with fierce tenacity. Those two peas in a pod devoured the S.O.S. with gusto, stopping only occasionally to temper the effects of the inevitable 'brain freeze.'It was a bit of a long day, but Nicholas' first game of the season did wonders to build the self-esteem of Nicholas and all the boys on the team. And if a game in Hanford every few weeks means we get to visit with the Harrison clan AND get to end the afternoon with ice cream, well, it seems like there are worse ways to spend a Saturday.

Pop Culture Break

August 31, 2010

We are pop culture junkies, my husband and me, most specifically of the T.V. variety (but certainly not limited to that medium). Naturally, we love to watch the Emmys together when they're on. This year, more than any other year, we feel like our pop culture junkiness has been validated by the awards bestowed upon the shows that we hold dear to our hearts.

In the past, there have been awards given to Law & Order Whatever City and Unit, and to Survivor and to House. Good shows, I'm sure, but nothing that we watch. This year, however, praises were sung to many of our favorites. With the exception of Top Chef, our lauded shows were newcomers to the television landscape, perhaps an unexpected result of writers having time to really germinate and mull over some good ideas during the writer's strike not long before the shooting schedule began for last year's shows. Solid writing and spot-on casting have made Glee, Community, and Modern Family shows too good to be missed.

Not only are these shows a joy to watch during the regular season, but they also provided some of the best Emmy enjoyment as well. Glee's opening number was fantastic, and the George Clooney bit with Modern Family was hilarious. The cast of Community essentially did a car commercial at every break, but I didn't even mind that, since everything leading up to the fade-in on the logo was characteristically Community--awkward, ironic, tongue-in-cheek, and droll. Just my cup of tea.

Of course, one of the best reasons to watch the big awards shows is the beautiful dresses on the red carpet. My picks for the best dressed of the night were Jane Lynch, Tina Fey, and Lea Michele. All of them were stunning! It must be fun to have an excuse to get all dolled up and go to a grown-up prom every year.

On another pop culture note, the newest contestants have been unveiled for the upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars. If the buzz about the internet is any indication, I am not alone in my disappointment at how loosely the title of 'Star' is being stretched these days in order to populate the dance floor. Bristol Palin? The Situation? Give me a break! Really, the only two I can really get behind this season are Florence Henderson and Jennifer Grey, but honestly, I don't know that their dim and distant stars shine brightly enough to illuminate the rest of the cast and keep my interest this season.

Back to School Dance

August 30, 2010

Ah, the Back To School Dance. It's a celebration of the end of the first week of school, and a Welcome To High School invitation to the newest inhabitants of Buchanan High. Largely populated by Leadership kids, Link Crew, and our baby freshmen, it's the probably the smallest dance of the year, but luckily for those of us who get to chaperone, the least likely to result in the kind of bumping and grinding dancing we generally have the misfortune of having to break up at the other dances. Although we had an ugly heatwave earlier in the week, the weather cooled down and was pleasant throughout the evening.

A.P. Literature

August 30, 2010

I feel very blessed this year, my daughter's senior year, to be teaching an A.P. Literature class populated with several young men and women I have known since they were chasing each other on the playground during 2nd grade recess. I have grown to know and love these kids over the past several years, this band of, on the whole, responsible, respectful, intelligent, humorous, goofy, and talented kids. Even the kids I am meeting for the first time seem to fall right into the 'family." This year with Bree and all of her classmates, my 'adopted' children, I fully anticipate having an enlightening and memorable year. I hope they are looking forward to the journey as much as I am.

Soccer Camp

August 28, 2010

A couple of weeks before school started, Danielle got to attend an AYSO soccer camp in Southern California with her cousins, Taylor and Devin. Although it's a U.K. camp, the young men running the camp for the kids were all Australian--go figure! Danielle really got to learn some skills and techniques that were new to her, and she really felt like she was well-prepared when she headed into soccer team clinics last week. She said she didn't learn anything new at the clinics that she hadn't already learned at the camp the previous week.
Some of the coaching was a little heavy on the technical terms, and in a thick accent at that, so I wondered how much Danielle was taking in. (She gave the camp an overall 9.5 rating on a scale of 1-10, deducting .5 because she 'couldn't understand anything they said.') That question was answered for me, though, after the third night when Aunt Lisa was driving the girls home from camp. "Today I got DOMs," she said.

"Really?" Aunt Lisa said. "What's DOMs?"

Without missing a beat, she replied, "Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, from when you get sore muscles a day or two after exercising or working out. I'm sore today."The camp was money well-spent, and Lisa and I already have plans for the girls to attend again next year. All of the girls had a great time. Both Danielle and Devin garnered "Player of the Day" awards, and Taylor's team won the big scrimmage on the final day of camp. I'm looking forward to seeing how Danielle uses the experience in the season ahead.

First Day of School--The Beginning of the End

August 28, 2010

We've wrapped up the first week of school, and pretty successfully, I must say. It's a unique year in the Lutjens household, since all of the kids are at the tops of their respective food chains--Danielle is a 6th grader, Nicholas is an 8th grader, and Brianna is now officially a senior. I am really looking forward to all of the milestones we'll approach this year for all of the kids, although I am fairly certain that there will be a great deal of sentimental tears for me along the way.

Nicholas, Danielle, and Bree on the first day of school.