Traveling Music

Last week, Colin and some classmates were inducted into the Tri-M, which is the Honor's Music Society at our school. It was a fabulous night of kids taking the stage, either solo or in small groups, to show their talents and perform for their parents, friends, and faculty. It was incredible how talented these kids are--I was very proud of not only my son, but also of the kids that I have known over the years.

As I sat there, I tried hard not to cry by thinking of how far some of these kids had come. Colin is shy and it took a bucketload of self-esteem to even get this group together. He was a kid who reluctantly continued his trumpet-playing into high school, but has learned to love playing over the years. Although he is still quiet, I see him gaining momentum a bit as he nears graduation.

I think we have him actually considering playing in college, although not in the uber-competitive and time-consuming marching band field. Instead, I see him in a more intimate setting, perhaps a concert or jazz band where playing isn't a chore, but a more creative outlet. His favorite venues are those where he is playing in the pit for the school musical or backing up the show choir--where he doesn't have to have pressure to play, but to just feel the music and enjoy.

But it isn't just my son that has grown and changed in the last couple of years. Sean, the tuba player on the left, was extremely quiet and shy. He has blossomed from a boy who's chin was eternally buried into his chest and couldn't utter a sound, into a witty, self-assured young man who looks me in the eye and announces a grand "Hello, Mrs. Kautz!" when I see him. I almost had to do a double-take the first time that happened. It's wonderful to see him to happy, self-confident, and funny--it's a nice change.

The trombone player, Mark, is in a category all on his own. I didn't know Mark before he came to the high school, but just watching him makes me cry. Mark, you see, is deaf. I haven't asked how much hearing he has, but he does have a Cochlear Implant and he has a sign language interpreter with him most of the time. He does however, talk and joke with everyone, never letting his lack of hearing impede him on any level.

It is nothing less of a miracle to see Mark in marching band every year, with Mary, his interpreter, on the sidelines marking the beat or signing instructions to him. There isn't a day when I think of this as routine or normal--he is incredible, with no other words to describe it. And his parents? Amazing and wonderful. I can't even imagine how they felt to see him inducted into the Tri-M that night--and I sat next to them. I would have been poppin' had I been his mom, but Julie just smiled and cheered on all of the kids along with her son.

There are others that shone that night. Linnea, who was so very quiet until 3 years ago when she joined band. To see her bloom from a quiet, soft-spoken girl to a beautiful, out-going, down-right silly young woman, right before my very eyes has been wonderful. I knew Linnea years ago in ballet class with Em--this is not the Linnea I remember. And I find myself watching her having so much fun, smiling in my heart to see her so happy.

There were others that night that I knew from the grade school, that grew up in those 4 very short years. They went from silly pre-teens into young men and women who could stand confidently on a stage and perform the most incredible music. The memories flooded back into my heart as I sat there smiling, cheering them on, remembering who they were and how far they have come.

And I didn't cry.

I am an Idiot

Don't even tell me it's Wednesday--I know, I know. Chuck's out-of-control-finger-that-hits-the-publish-button-willy-nilly must have paid a visit to the Duck and Wheel.

Let's all pretend I posted the following at 6 a.m. on THURSDAY, okay. Thanks for playing along.

I-love-Hobbes Thursday

Okay, so it's cold and gloomy. There is only one cure for those of us missing the sunshine....

Hobbes!

Before:


Now:


Uh oh, somebody's basket shrunk.

I'm-Never-Wordless Wednesday

As the cold rain came down sideways today, I realized that I missed summer and my garden. I just had to post some color other than orange stripes today, it was just so darned gloomy. The day was brightened by a nice lunch out of the office today with Irene and Esra, but I think we would have all had a bit more fun had the sun shone on our faces a bit. How many more months 'til spring? I'm not sure I'm gonna make it.

On another note, I've been passed along some awards. Typically, I do not post awards and although I am always thrilled to receive them, I'm just awful at using up the blog post for them. I've always got some story to share or some photo to post, so awards tend to fall by the wayside. My pally, DG, has non-awarded me numerous times because she knows of my disdain for doing these, so I'm giving her a shout out here to thank her for purposely passing me by. Thanks, DG.

My pally, Hot Rocks, wrote some kind words about the Duck and Wheel this week and bestowed this beast on me. It always makes me feel good when someone has something nice to say about me or the blog--it is a rare occurrence in real life, so I'm going with it. Thanks, pally.

A new pally, Ann, laid this bad boy on me earlier in the month, so I figured while I'm at it, I'm going to show off this award too. I'm not sure Duck and Wheel is the best blog, but I'd like to think the pallies tune in to humor me on most days. Thanks, Ann, for boosting the blog-esteem a notch.

If you think I'm gonna pass these on, you are wrong. Nope, I'm a rebel and I don't follow the rules very well. I'm not gonna list 10 things I love about my gym shoes or list all of my past pet hamsters in alphabetical order, but I am going to give a shout out to some pallies who are seeing some tough times these days. A little bit of this and a little bit of that has got them down and I think we need to pass some prayers in their direction that the winds of positive change are gonna blow their way.

Say a little extra prayer for:

1. Helene -- Orange Stripey love only goes so far, Helene needs a new job
2. Lola -- Lola and Anastasia need a BIG wind of change around their neck of the woods
   
3. Stephanie -- Another job order here. And while we're at it, say an extra prayer that Steph starts feeling better.
   

Things aren't so hot in this world just yet, so be sure to help one another and be kind to those we meet for we never know what load they bear.

More Office Fun with Irene

I was sitting at my desk when I noticed a little clicking noise at the cubicle next to mine. I looked over because nobody sits there and I was wondering what was making that odd little noise.

And then I heard it again. And again.

It was a little tip tapping sound in the ceiling, first over the cubicle in the corner, then next to mine, and soon, above me. It was a clickety click and then it would stop. Clickety click click click. Then silence. Click Click Clickety. It was an animal of some sort on the suspended ceiling of the office.

Okay, I'm a huge animal gal. You know, I dig the frogs, crack up at Bernice at the feeder, and have owned more hamsters in my day than I can count, but this guy was trying my patience. I didn't think some squirrel/rat/raccoon/opossum falling on my head at work was going to be any fun, so I did the natural thing....I called for Irene.

"Uh, Irene?" I say semi-quietly.

"Yeah?" I hear from the cube behind me.

"Do you hear what I hear?"

"Yep."

So, now I call for Jim, our office old guy who takes care of everything from the accounting to the water cooler, to the heat, to cracking me up with his war stories.

"Uh, Jim? Do you hear that noise? I think there is an animal in the ceiling" I'm semi-panicking.

"I don't hear anything" He says. "Maybe it's a leak."

So, after much discussion regarding the hippity hoppity sound and that it couldn't be a leak because leaks are more regular in their sound, Irene, Jim, Esra, and I head for the dock behind our office.

Our little office is an afterthought. It was a constructed room in a large dock area, so there is about 30 feet of building ceiling and the ceiling of our tiny office. There is also a door leading to a dock area where there is a giant overhead door. There is the availability of openings and animals that could enter this room, but I didn't want to think about what kind of animal was up there. The only thing separating our cubicles from the big room was a lame framework of thin metal stripping and suspended ceiling tiles. Nothing that would support a beastly raccoon or Sasquatch or something.

After much joking about National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Jim grabs a ladder and Irene starts climbing. Esra is terrified and is hiding behind the office door, while I'm holding the ladder. Irene is straining to see what is on the suspended ceiling over our cubicles.

"I see it!" Irene yells. "It's not a cat!"

"Great, Irene. What is it?" I'm hanging on to her so she doesn't fall off the ladder.

"I dunno, but it's not a cat. I can see it's head." Irene is not good at animal identification apparently.

"Let me see," and Jim takes over from where Irene fails. "It's a sparrow, Irene! You mean to tell me you can't tell a cat from a sparrow?!" And we start cracking up.

So, Jim climbs down and opens the doors to the the dock, lifts the giant overhead door, and I turn off the lights to the big room, hoping that our pally finds his way out. We were thinking that it would head to the light--literally, not figuratively. Well, we hoped not anyway.

We spent the next few hours, trying not to listen to the continued clickety click clicks of our sparrow/not-a-cat friend. And after awhile, the sound was no longer there. I guess it made it's escape.

It's never dull where I work. I swear I work there just for the stories alone.

Why are there no Thanksgiving songs?

The mere mention of "family" at the holidays is enough to send most folks to the liquor cabinet. Yeah, I get that, but I'm actually excited for Thanksgiving to come as we are spending our holiday weekend with the family of our choosing.

Thanksgiving Day will bring us to The Donahue Botanical Gardens (aka my aunt's house) where there is lots of good food, some flowing liquor, $100,000 Pyramid game play-offs, some wicked Wii contests between the adults, and if we are lucky, a repeat of last year's f-bomb dropping at the dinner table. Oh yeah, it's one of those times when your stomach hurts from laughing, not just from eating too much.

After a day of recovery, we are heading off to be with my Cumberland Falls family--The Ostler's in particular. We spent a couple of days together this summer and we are still laughing from that, so we thought it fun to pick up where we left off. It's one of those camp-out-on-the-living-room-floor-and-stay-up-until-the-wee-hours-cracking-up-about-everything-and-nothing kinda weekends. We cannot wait.

Holidays are always sort of stressful and we do what we can to avoid feeling that way. We slowly put up the decorations over a month's time, but I still get crabby putting everything away to make room for the holiday stuff. There never seems to be enough time or money during the month of December and I haven't figured out how to balance either of those out just yet. No matter how much I cut back, we end up spending way too much on everything. It's just that time of year.

So, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving, when you have the fun without the work. When you can sit on the couch and laugh without thinking about having to take the lights down or if the cat is eating the village under the tree. There aren't holiday bills to pay or presents to wrap just yet. It is the chance to just relax without having to dig out some silly pilgrim decorations and Mayflower salt and pepper shakers.

I think Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. There is no real preparation, no obligations, no demands. It is just good food, laughs, and relaxing before it all goes nuts.

Where's the Kitty?

This is the only remaining lair in the yard as all of the other plants have been clipped back for the winter. Okay, so he looks pretty camouflaged, but somehow I think the birds and squirrels still know he's out there.