Visceral Music both Great and from Family

See, we don't look forward enough.
But sometimes, wonderful happens, and it happens to someone in your family.

Not only is the experience wonderful, but knowing your kid is part of it is ...transcendent.

Never in my life had I expected to be standing and clapping with cheering, sometimes crying parents, teachers, friends, siblings...and old grandparent farts like me.

I don't call it crying when beauty is involved--just overflowing from beauty.

My granddaughter was part of the music. She made it happen. I didn't know she could do that, or that the rest of them could.

A concert. Of the best in many, many counties.

It was beyond good.

Details? In this part of Texas it was the Regional Concert. Only most had qualified for Area, the next step up, and 13 of those had made All State. In Texas. That's a bigger deal than usual. Texas is bigger than most countries. Texas is huge. Getting All State? Big deal.

No, granddaughter didn't get that. She's a sophomore. And she's good. And she was a part of this symphonic band.  Wow.

I didn't know kids could play this well. Their conductor also is a composer who recently was asked to write the commemoration for New Town Sandy Hook School tragedy, and I have read about it.

He chose two pieces from other composers, two from his compositions. One was a commemoration for a happy two-year-old who died in a freak accident. He called it "Mountain Thyme", and my granddaughter said he and many of the band cried as they played it.

The last was a composition for the Calgary Stampede--full of fire and explosive emotion.

The band was so damn good. I wasn't expecting them to be so good. They got a standing ovation. I have loved my granddaughters. They are stellar. I didn't ever see this heartfelt standing ovation coming.

And I thought, "What other wonderful things will happen that I haven't imagined?"

And I clapped even harder.