I miss it.

Being the one *playing* the music and not just listening. Pete and I were band geeks when we met (he truly WAS a geek....still is, really, just another flavor), and I don't think either of us really knew how deep that music bug went. We've both noticed it, though. We can be sitting on the side of a parade route, football field, or even on the couch watching a concert (or marching band performance) on TV, and it hits us just how much we'd love to be on the other end of those sound waves. There is something about being part of a band, an orchestra, whatever...it gets under your skin and never leaves, apparently!

We attended a dress rehearsal for the Huntsville Ballet Company's "Nutcracker" last night, and at different times during the performance, both of us ended up with our eyes closed, just listening to the music. At one point, Pete was actually mock-directing the orchestra. Oh boy, we've got it BAD. Sure, the ballet was amazing, and all of the dancers were wonderful. But we're musicians straight to the core. We were there to hear the music; the visual stuff, well, it was just icing. I wonder how long it would take me to work my 'chops' back to performance standards? Think the symphony would take an old, crusty trumpet player who can't get rid of "the bug"? Probably not.

The girls loved the ballet, of course. Jamie is ready NOW to take lessons, she says. She'd probably be a natural; the child walks around on the tops of her toes...not the ends, not on her 'tippy toes', but with her toes curled under. It hurts the rest of us to watch. Morgan just wants to twirl.

I just want to find my Tchaikovsky CD!