When my neighbor Joe and I started listening to music together it was just by chance. I think he asked me to drive him to CVS once and when I helped him bring in the groceries he asked if I wanted to stay for a bit. We got talking about jazz and such. We were both rattling off different artists, and then I asked if he had time to listen to a few things. Well, that random weekday evening turned into our first listening night which then led to a friendship that lasted a long time.
My wife and I have some friends who recently welcomed a baby girl into the world. A big congratulations to them and their bundle of joy, Sienna. But seeing their Facebook posts and reading all the well wishes they received kind of took me back to that time when we brought Ellie home. Those first few days.
I recently took a road trip up to East Lansing, MI to get fitted for a tuxedo for a wedding I was in. I went to Michigan State University so I never mind a reason to go up and drive through campus. It really is a beautiful campus. And even though it’s been almost a decade since I graduated, it still feels like it was just last year. Going back to campus feels like going home. And I figured if I timed it right, I could catch a rehearsal and show Ellie the marching band. Yes, I said marching band. I’m a band nerd through and through.  I was in the marching band in high school, and I was in the drumline of the Spartan Marching Band for two years as well. With Ellie loving and reacting to music so much lately, I thought it’d be a great idea for her to see the marching band.
You know that phrase that starts with the dreaded words, “Just wait …”
Just about everybody uses that phrase at some point. It’s that constant reminder from someone older or more experienced than you that life is harder, more difficult than you know it now.
The temperature dropped 40 degrees, school has started and college football has begun. I guess that means fall is here, or at least fast approaching. And with fall beginning, that means summer is ending.
It’s ending!? Didn’t it just start? I know it’s the first week of September, but in my mind it’s still the beginning of June. It’s like I’ve been living the same day for the past three months. What happened!? It’s September already!
So before I fully embrace fall, I’m still thinking about summer, and how different this summer has been for me than last year. Having a child change from an infant into a toddler, combined with some added confidence in my stay-at-home role, provides big changes.
