Joan on the Road

I apologize for being such a lazy blogger! Almost two weeks since I last wrote and my only excuse is that we've had a lot going on AND I'm addicted to Farmtown on Facebook! So what's been happening?

Biggest event was Zachary's graduation on June 16th. It was a wonderful family time and a tremendous milestone for Zach. Daughter Laura came to visit from Montana so I got a day of girl time with her. She came along with me to my radiation treatment (1/2 way through...yeah) and then we met son Jim for lunch at Benji's, a local New York style deli. Great corned beef!

On graduation day we all met up at Renee and Tom's for snacks then headed out to claim seats at the graduation for our clan. We arrived 90 minutes before the ceremony and it was none too early. Evan was not real thrilled with the whole thing, nothing captured his attention. It "took a village" to keep track of him!

It was a short ceremony given there were 500 plus graduates. After the meet and greet on the field we headed to Renee's for a buffet and gifts. I have to say that I sometimes sit at these events and just marvel at my whole family. What a group! A few of Zach's friends stopped in and joined the noshing and singing.

The "DJ" selected Queen's Greatest Hits and suddenly the whole crowd is singing Fat Bottom Girls and We Will Rock You! Four generations enjoying the same song! I wish I had a video of that. Little Evan, stomping and clapping, singing all the words and looking around at everyone with a big grin. "Look at me! I'm doing just what the big kids are doing!"

Here's the lineup! Evan knew just what he was supposed to do....

Zach was speechless when he opened gifts. Top of the heap was a Canon Rebel SLR from Renee, Tom and Uncle Jim. Grandma and Grandpa Nehls sent a generous check to help him through first year of college. We contributed some camera accessories and the kids gave him a new cell phone. Lucky guy1

No more school events for us until Evan starts a couple of years from now. Let's see...I'll be 83 when he graduates. Probably we'll still be singing Fat Bottom Girls!

Posted by Joan at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've been to lots of choral concerts over the years, ever since our kids were in high school....lots of great music. But never the emotional evening we experienced last Thursday. It was Zach's last concert and he said he had a surprise for us.

All the choir groups were very good and the special solo performances were excellent. I think students ask to be a special performer and select their songs. That was Zachary's surprise. He belted out his Mom's favorite song, Live Like You Were Dying....a Tim McGraw ballad. Wow!!! We were awed, amazed and all in tears. Even the guys choked up. Zach is a great performer and being in the second row we got the full benefit of his smiles and eye contact plus his beautiful tenor voice. We were so very proud and touched by this performance.

The other very emotional part was the final senior presentation to the music teacher, Mrs. Morrison. Each graduating senior, probably 20 of them, gave her a rose and told her how much she had impacted their life. Well by the time this was done the whole audience was in tears. Our Zach said she taught him how to "embrace life." We know this to be true because we watched Zach blossom and grow during his two years in music and theater.

The finale of the concert is always the Hallelujah Chorus. Mrs. Morrison invites former choir members and parents to come on stage and join in singing. The stage was jam packed. Former students bring their kids just to participate in this one song.

The evening was an example of the power of one person. Every year this teacher sends out another bunch of kids who will forever love music and who will pass that love on to their families. Like ripples in the pond, teaching the world how to sing in perfect harmony.

Posted by Joan at 09:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)