It is almost over, y'all.

I will be heading home at approximately 1:00 p.m. today. And the first thing I’m going to do is lay down on my bed. For about .02 seconds because Joshua will want to play as soon as we get there. And when Joshua goes to bed, I am going to bed.

I. Am. Exhausted.

This was hard last year with a 4 month old.

It’s been harder this year with a 16 month old. (Happy 16 month birthday today, Joshua!)

It’s also been hotter this year. See this sweaty kid:

Yeah. It’s hot.

So, before I die of the exhaustion from which I’m currently suffering, let me introduce you to today’s guest poster. Laura Jane of Call Me Laura Jane. She and her husband both marched Drum Corps together (which is extreme marching band? sort of professional marching band? really freaking cool?) and now they have a little cutie named Mason. Go check her out and make sure to leave her some love here, too!

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I’m a band nerd.

I married a band nerd.

And my son better be a band nerd, too, or I’m not sure what to do with him!

When I meet new friends it’s customary to divulge what you did in highschool… almost like being in highschool again, right? What were your extracurriculars? Cheerleading? Volleyball? Gymnastics?

I was in colorguard.

::blank stare::

A flag flipper. (insert big eye roll here)

Oh.

Most people have no concept of the kind of colorguard I was in. We had 50 girls on our fall guard (the guard that performs with the marching band) and had to split our winterguard into three different shows. Winterguard = inside a gym with a tarp & flag flipping to music. Typically this type of colorguard is lyrical, passionate, and more in. your. face. You had to be a dancer to really excel at winterguard… which wasn’t my strong point. I was the muscle, if you will. The powerhouse used to launch rifles, sabres, and flags spinning into the air and trained to catch them with a fierce attitude and a steady hand. I couldn’t be bothered with dance and being graceful and pointing my toes…

Anyway- We won regionals, state compititions, bronze medal winner in the big time WGI (Winterguard International) nationals… we were good. I hate to boast about myself and my sisters, but we were really good.

Never in my life have I had so much confidence.

Even when wearing this fancy contraption on my head during the Rose Bowl parade in 2002. (Longest. Day. Ever.)

That’s me, second from the left.

Pretty bad ass, huh?

And by being a bad ass, I was able to push myself through highschool bickery, broken hearts, family toils, and practically my entire teenage life. Sure, there were times I lost that confidence- a mean girl or three can easily do that to any girl. But it always came back.

This sense of accomplishment.

Of commitment.

One of the biggest commitments I have ever made in my life is deciding to leave everything I knew with one friend and one ginormous suitcase and live on a Red Carpet bus for 2.5 months while practicing 14 hours a day and surviving on peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches for breakfast all for one show. Drum Corps.

I met my husband there. We were bus seat partners (queue the squealy girls going OooOoooh! ). Okay, technically I met my husband in highschool four years prior, but he was a brass and I was a guard and that just didn’t mesh. Brass stayed with woodwinds and guard stuck with drumline.

It’s the way of the band cliques. Never fails.

There were nights on that summer tour that I would weep and beg to go home because my entire body was exhausted and I couldn’t possibly last another practice. But I didn’t go home. I stayed. And I persevered. Whenever I look back on that summer all I remember is Pride. Topher. Accomplishment. Dave Mathews. And Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwhiches. (seriously… I ate them almost every day and still went down 4 jean sizes in two months!)

So, after all this rambling I really want to leave you with this. What’s the ONE thing that reminds you that you can do anything? My first thought is… well, God. Of course. But, what does my gut tell me?

Colorguard.

I lived it. I loved it. I survived it. And I would not be the strong, independent woman I am today if not for what colorguard did for me.

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