Seventy-Six Trombones...
Last night we went to the "Pops & Patriotism" concert at Chautauqua -part of the Colorado Music Festival. If you can call it a tradition after two years, then it's one of our new Fourth of July traditions since living in Boulder. I LOVE the Colorado Music Festival madly. I am grateful, of course, for any cultural events that make me feel like I am not isolated from the Big City and all it has to offer.
I realize that Denver is not that far away, but I hate driving there in the Winter and really most of the time, because I still haven't gotten used to the mad, crazy, really bad, driving that happens on the freeways of Colorado. I'd like my child to live to see his High School graduation, and quite frankly, I think any superfluous time spent on the roads in Colorado just provides one more opportunity for a grissly death. Read: weenie.
And, I digress. Anyway, any time that I go to one of the Colorado Music Festival events I seriously wonder why every person in Boulder isn't lining up outside to attend. A mystery. It means, of course, better seats for me, but it's not like Seattle, where I would go to things like that and run into my friends. Anyway, the orchestra that they put together every year is so good, and even if they aren't, I can't tell. We go to the Fourth of July concert every year, because it's a family concert so the wiggling, exhausted five year old we bring with us doesn't look out of place. Even though it means keeping our son our well past his bedtime, I love that he gets things now. He knows that he is supposed to clap when the "concertmaster" enters and when the conductor enters. He knows the name of the instruments. He recognizes many of the songs, thank you "Little Einsteins". All of that makes me happy. I don't think it will make him too nerdy either, because he has above average good looks, is extremely coordinated, has a great sense of humor, and he's dang smart, so I feel no reserve at cultivating his artsy side.
There was wiggling and tiredness, and because there was napping in the afternoon, there was staying up until 11pm -there is a point where a nap becomes the kiss of death, by the way, and since Christian hasn't napped in years, when he does, you're guaranteed no bed time before 11pm. Ack. Still, the concert was terribly fun, despite the wiggling and the late night, and I always get that feeling of satisfaction that next year will be even easier. It's fun to watch those sort of things through your child's eyes, and I love that I am making memories about the things that were important to his parents.
I have the best memories of my dad taking me to the Ballet and the Symphony and the mountains and large municipal projects, like dams or libraries. One time my dad came and got me out of bed when I was in maybe Jr. High, to watch West Side Story, and he told me all about Leonard Bernstein. I have had countless lessons on John Phillip Sousa and the Sousaphone, it goes on and on. Nevertheless, I came away with a clearer picture of the things that were important to my dad and music was a very big one. The thing is, he just took me along. He made very few demands about my liking music or the arts or books or anything, but that was the thing, I think that sealed it for me. I grew up being drug to all of these events, events that my dad made seem important, and in the end, those things became important to me. He never ever said, this should be important to you. He just made sure I saw it -even those really long Kennedy Center Honors they do every year that still make me cry.
I married someone who also loves these things, so we go and do the painful dragging of the tired five year old the the Fourth of July concert every year. Christian and I have gone to all the family fun concerts this year, and I hope we'll go to open rehearsals and hang out and watch the musicians. We go to the art museum, we go to the mountains, we may go look at dams (interestingly enough, Dave's dad also took him to dams), we read incessantly, we're sappily patriotic (of course, where my dad has chosen Fox News, I've chose Jon Stewart). My dad seems to have passed on the things that were important to him, without ever saying he thought we should find them important. I hope I'm able to do that.
Oh, but the fish hatcheries we toured...not sure about the fish hatcheries.
I realize that Denver is not that far away, but I hate driving there in the Winter and really most of the time, because I still haven't gotten used to the mad, crazy, really bad, driving that happens on the freeways of Colorado. I'd like my child to live to see his High School graduation, and quite frankly, I think any superfluous time spent on the roads in Colorado just provides one more opportunity for a grissly death. Read: weenie.
And, I digress. Anyway, any time that I go to one of the Colorado Music Festival events I seriously wonder why every person in Boulder isn't lining up outside to attend. A mystery. It means, of course, better seats for me, but it's not like Seattle, where I would go to things like that and run into my friends. Anyway, the orchestra that they put together every year is so good, and even if they aren't, I can't tell. We go to the Fourth of July concert every year, because it's a family concert so the wiggling, exhausted five year old we bring with us doesn't look out of place. Even though it means keeping our son our well past his bedtime, I love that he gets things now. He knows that he is supposed to clap when the "concertmaster" enters and when the conductor enters. He knows the name of the instruments. He recognizes many of the songs, thank you "Little Einsteins". All of that makes me happy. I don't think it will make him too nerdy either, because he has above average good looks, is extremely coordinated, has a great sense of humor, and he's dang smart, so I feel no reserve at cultivating his artsy side.
There was wiggling and tiredness, and because there was napping in the afternoon, there was staying up until 11pm -there is a point where a nap becomes the kiss of death, by the way, and since Christian hasn't napped in years, when he does, you're guaranteed no bed time before 11pm. Ack. Still, the concert was terribly fun, despite the wiggling and the late night, and I always get that feeling of satisfaction that next year will be even easier. It's fun to watch those sort of things through your child's eyes, and I love that I am making memories about the things that were important to his parents.
I have the best memories of my dad taking me to the Ballet and the Symphony and the mountains and large municipal projects, like dams or libraries. One time my dad came and got me out of bed when I was in maybe Jr. High, to watch West Side Story, and he told me all about Leonard Bernstein. I have had countless lessons on John Phillip Sousa and the Sousaphone, it goes on and on. Nevertheless, I came away with a clearer picture of the things that were important to my dad and music was a very big one. The thing is, he just took me along. He made very few demands about my liking music or the arts or books or anything, but that was the thing, I think that sealed it for me. I grew up being drug to all of these events, events that my dad made seem important, and in the end, those things became important to me. He never ever said, this should be important to you. He just made sure I saw it -even those really long Kennedy Center Honors they do every year that still make me cry.
I married someone who also loves these things, so we go and do the painful dragging of the tired five year old the the Fourth of July concert every year. Christian and I have gone to all the family fun concerts this year, and I hope we'll go to open rehearsals and hang out and watch the musicians. We go to the art museum, we go to the mountains, we may go look at dams (interestingly enough, Dave's dad also took him to dams), we read incessantly, we're sappily patriotic (of course, where my dad has chosen Fox News, I've chose Jon Stewart). My dad seems to have passed on the things that were important to him, without ever saying he thought we should find them important. I hope I'm able to do that.
Oh, but the fish hatcheries we toured...not sure about the fish hatcheries.