More Parades, Concerts, Weddings and a broken bone

I’m back and in record time!  Well maybe not record time – but better than last time. To pick up where we left off, I will just jump right in.

August – August started with a bang – a train ride with my 13-year old nephew Griffin to Chicago to see Sir Paul McCartney at Wrigley Field!  This was a birthday present to Griffin from the entire family.  He is a huge Beatles fan and was beyond excited.  His first train ride, first trip to Chicago and first (maybe only) trip to see one of the remaining Beatles.  While I was not overly excited about the concert, I did consider it a once in a lifetime opportunity.  Well let me tell you – this concert was amazing!!!  Paul is quite spry for a 69 year-old man and performed for three solid hours!!  I was surprised that I knew every song and was truly entertained. Aside from a slightly hairy ride on the elevated train from Wrigley Field to the hotel, wherein a man told me that he wished that someone would mug him because he had a knife and knew how to use it, the trip was wonderful and we had a great time.

We also attended the third wedding of the year for one of Jodi’s oldest and dearest friends.  This was the first wedding I had been to where the bride and groom read their own vows and it was quite touching.  On to the reception for great food and more dancing!  I might mention I was still dancing with a sprained ligament (I thought it was better) and at this point had an issue with my leg that I had yet to identify.

August is State Fair time in Illinois at which the piping band performs annually.  Also went to the third concert of the summer, second this month. I took my nephews and son to St. Louis for the Manchester Orchestra/My Chemical Romance/Blink-182 concert.  Again – a great time was had by all.  We had lawn sits and in my old age, I will say that I was getting a little frightened at one point during the MCR show.  The party-goers around us were getting a little out of hand.  About this time, someone came up and asked how many in my party.  I immediately assumed one of my entourage had acted a fool and we were going to be escorted off the grounds.  But no!  They were giving our free seat upgrades and must have noticed that I was out of my element on the lawn and needed to sit down.  We were closer and the kids were beside themselves.

September - Fall – I love you.  I started the month by going to the doctor because at this point, I could barely walk.  We had just started a fitness challenge at work – part of which was walking a mile at a 2% incline.  Yeah not a big deal, right?  Wrong when one of your legs does not want to work any longer.  Come to find out, I had a tibial stress fracture – most likely made worse by months of parades and dancing as if I was 25 again.  So two months off exercise for me, plus my first (and hopefully last) MRI.  Although we did have two more parades, these did not seem to aggravate because we do not move at a very fast pace.  This month also gave us the last of our weddings for the year.  The oldest son of two of my oldest friends got married.  We traveled to Michigan for the wedding, which was wonderful.  Another fabulous time (yeah I danced even though I should not have.  Just cannot pass up an opportunity to dance to “Shout”).

October – Things started slowing down.  Ok, not really.  We started the month with the St. Louis Highland Games.  I did not compete but did participate in the massed bands again.  Back to St. Louis, again the next weekend with my oldest nephew Connor for his birthday treat.  We went shopping at the St. Louis Mills Mall, a trip to the St. Louis Art Museum at which we viewed the Monet Exhibit (awesome) and then off to the Galleria for more shopping.  Let me tell you, this kid can shop.  The next weekend found us at another parade for a nearby college homecoming and then to the annual society bonfire for another small performance.  And I guess I should mention, my 30-year class reunion was that weekend also.  I attended the Friday night function, which more than satisfied my need to relive my high school years.  The fourth weekend of the month offered up a party at my sister’s house on Friday, with the next night providing the opportunity to watch my brother-in-law play drums with a group that included another child of an old friend, as he celebrated his 18^th birthday.  Another great time.  Finished out this month by taking part in the Halloween Hooley, with many in the group dressed as the participants in the song “The Unicorn” by the Irish Rovers.  If you do not know it, you should.

November – Started by going to another concert.  A friend of mine won tickets to a Bryan Adams concert and asked me to go along. Another great concert, which was extra exciting because my pipe teacher was asked to play on the song “Cuts Like a Knife” with him.  Very exciting stuff!  The first weekend found me on a train to Chicago with a friend of mine to go shopping.  The next weekend was a trip to St.Louis with Jodi for my first pedicure and tickets to see “Billy Elliott” at the Fox Theater for my birthday.  A glorious day.   Our last parade for the year was also this weekend, and another performance the day after Thanksgiving at the Festival of Trees in Springfield, followed by a band/dancer Christmas party.  This month also brought about the last planned concert of the year – The Avett Brothers with Sean.  Another wonderful concert.  The opening band was The David Mayfield Parade, whom I had not heard of until they took the stage.  They were great and got to meet David Mayfield and have my picture taken with him after the show.  More fun stuff!  After this, things really did start to slow down, with time being filled by the usual holiday cheer and the fact that my dad landed in the hospital three times within four weeks.  Not fun stuff.

As the year comes to a close, I look back and see that it was filled with several experiences, some fun, some not so fun.  I feel as though I have progressed nicely in my piping journey and have truly enjoyed the experience. While I have much more to learn, I feel good about my development thus far. I have also enjoyed the time spent with family and friends and am grateful for that time and for them. There are so many things I didn’t mention – book club, movie club – and many other interesting and fun parts of the year. It was nice to take the time to look back and realize how enjoyable life is! One more thing, one of my Christmas presents was a ticket to see Coldplay in August, so I guess 2012 will not be the year I quit going to concerts.

Parades, Concerts & Weddings

Ok so I guess when I started my blog I lacked follow-through.  Or good ideas.  Or something. A friend of mine who was kind enough to read my first post has been harassing me, wanting more and more.  I kept telling her, yes, yes, I was working on it.  Then I would write something and not totally love it.  Then I was busy.  Then it was October. And now it is November. Therefore – in an effort to regain her friendship, I decided that I would recap these past several months that kept me so very busy!!

May – oh so long ago, can I even remember?  I went to several Highland Games with the piping band and was able to participate in Massed Bands at one of the games.  For those non-piper types, massed bands is the culmination of the competitions and festivities at the games wherein all the bands that are present march onto the field while playing the same songs together and the awards are presented.  It was a great time and helped me work toward losing some of my nervousness about playing the pipes.

June – Ah June.  The first of four weddings took place in June.  I traveled with my daughter Jodi and sister Megan to Warsaw, Missouri to take part in the marriage in a friend of Jodi’s.  Jodi was a bridesmaid and Megan made the wedding cake, which we transported to the wedding.  It was around 1,000 degrees for this outdoor wedding, and the cicadas were in abundance.  It turned out to be a very relaxed and beautiful wedding and great fun was had by all.   A cicada landed in Jodi’s hair while she was walking down the aisle, causing her to scream and do the bug dance, adding to the fun of the evening.  I danced so much I sprained a ligament in my foot.  Yes, seriously. Theme of the night – I got 99 problems and my foot was one.  This was a great trip for the three of us to take and we truly enjoyed ourselves.

This month also held another pipe performance at a dance concert, another Highland Games and another wedding.  Oh, and we hosted a shower for another friend of my daughter who would be partaking in her nuptials in August.

July – This month began with several parades for the piping band – two taking place in one day around the 4^th of July – which was quite possibly the hottest day of the year yet.   There were a few more parades and performances toward the end of the month.  Of course, by taking part in these, I was able to move a few steps closer to feeling like a true piper.

My son Sean, Jodi & I also went to the first of several concerts of the year.  We were off to Milwaukee for Summerfest – rocking out to the music of Cage the Elephant, Florence and the Machine and The Black Keys.  Awesome concert and all three acts were amazing, each in their own wonderful way.  The crowd was a bit trying – like when the yo-yo behind me, who was screaming like a maniac, all the while believing he was actually singing, poured his beer on me.  Or the more than slightly inebriated girl in front of us that actually spilled 4 beers throughout the night, whether they be her beer or some random sucker unlucky enough to cross her path.  My intolerance of these idiots made me wonder if I am in fact too old for concert going.  Nah, not quite yet.  Aside from the great music we heard, the highlight of this trip came when we were certain that Morris Day, of Morris Day & the Time (performers at Summerfest) were staying in our hotel.   Guess what??  They were!!  Sitting at the hotel bar, having dinner and drinks.  I was staring while Sean was Googling photos of Morris Day.  There he was in the flesh.  Did I get his autograph you ask?  Um no.  As we stood staring at him, and he looked at us as though he may have been waiting for us to say “OMG ARE YOU MORRIS DAY” or waiting for me to snatch his wings off his plate, I bought an $8.00 sandwich I did not want and we took off.  I was so excited just to see him, I ran all the way back to the room and where we could sing and dance to “Jungle Love” in private. 

On a more somber note, I also mourned the end of someone dear to me.  I will miss you Harry Potter and friends. Life will not be the same without you.

In an effort not to bore too much, and of course, over-excite anyone who might be reading, I will save the next several months for another post.   Do stay tuned for more concert fun, two more weddings, several piping experiences, and general overall mayhem.

The joy of pipes and trivia

Yes, I am one of those people who still ring in New Year by making a resolution.  Can’t help it – I always look to a new year as a symbol of hope and change.  My resolution for 2011 – live a little.  Get out more, involve myself in activities outside of my comfort zone.    I actually started this quest in 2010 when my nephew and I began taking bagpipe lessons.  This past month, a little over a year after beginning the pipe lessons, I attended my first family ceilidh, at which I made my public debut by playing Amazing Grace with the pipe band.  I also took another step outside of my comfort zone and participated in a trivia contest – while only knowing one other person on the team of ten.  Yes, I know neither of these things sound like great accomplishments but for me they are huge.  I have never been one to put myself out there.  I prefer to stay right inside my own little bubble.

Now, while I was not dreading either of these activities, I was a tad bit nervous about each – and had a slight fear of looking like an idiot in front of a group of people I did not know and looking inept in front of people I did know.  Not that it would be the first time for either – but hey, why do it on purpose?  It turns out that each event was great fun. I knew more trivia answers than I thought I would (although I swear I still remember watching Jeremy Renner give an acceptance speech for his Best Actor win in “The Hurt Locker”) and I was able to play Amazing Grace with just a few minor errors that (hopefully) only I realized (and well, maybe my teacher).

I felt as though I made great strides this month.  My hard work and practice on the pipes paid off and ended up giving me a much needed boost of confidence.  And most definitely, the ample time and work I have spent over the past 30+ years of watching movies, listening to music, and paying attention to trivial facts also served great purpose. Even though our trivia team did not win big, I had small, personal victories. That is how I know life goes on…..and of course the movies that starred the Brat Pack.

My resolutions used to be the usual and mundane - lose weight, work to maintain my health, stop spending money, blah, blah.  While important, these resolutions usually fell by the wayside just after a month, if that.  I decided that to accomplish these goals, I needed to make an actual change from within – maybe by learning a new skill, taking up a new hobby or living my life instead of letting it fly past me.  Forget the fear of doing new things or meeting new people – get out there and take charge!!  Turns out that while the fear is still there, with each step I take, it diminishes and I am able to conquer the little things and enjoy life in the process.