Tuneful Tuesday

Be thankful for the music-makers -- the people who lift their voices in joy. They make our world a more joyful, less silent place. 

Harrison is thankful for band. Today he spent 7 hours rehearsing for SCIBA Honor Band. This is the South Central Iowa Band Association and it's a pretty big deal. They had to try out in October and only 2 8th graders from Callanan Middle School made the band. And Harrison was the only one that made the top (blue) band. To say we are proud is an understatement. He said that he had a great day, made some new friends and learned a new musical interval called a tritone. They performed 4 songs for us and I actually got chills and teared up a bit when they played The Bonsai Tree by Julie Giroux. It was such a moving piece. I am thankful for their conductor this evening. Her name is Jennifer Williams (assistant director of bands at Ankeny High) and when she went through past selections of Blue Honor Band music, she noticed that the band had never played a piece by a woman composer. So she four pieces composed by four different women. Women supporting and fighting for women. YES!

Christopher is focused on the weather lately. He was very thankful that it was snowing in Minnesota and not Iowa. I think he is being premature in his thankfulness as we are forecasted to get an inch and a half by Friday. Boooooooo.

Bennett spent the afternoon at Fritz' house and even forgot about having to go to Harrison's band performance. He asked if he could stay until 6:45. Uh, no. That's missing dinner so even if we didn't have plans... tweens... But he is thankful for his friendships and the ability to go to his friends houses after school. I'll be honest, the extra 2 1/2 hours of quiet, alone time in the house was amazing!