Band Camp For the Win!

Band Camp is kicking my butt this year, and I'm not even the one participating! We are on the 2nd week - all day rehearsals and back in the evening.  If it was football, they'd call them 3-a-days. It's challenging enough getting TWO kids out the door every morning with everything they need (and feeding them by 5:15 so they can go back), but William and I have been going to band camp, too. John's out of town this week, so William gets to be my shadow, poor thing.

See, the Band Parents Association helps with the management of the uniforms.  The Color Guard gets new uniforms every year, so that's not really an issue.  The Marching Band, however, purchases uniforms only once every 10 years or so, and they have to be cleaned and maintained, and most of all, fitted.

That's what we're doing right now.  We have about 140 uniforms and 128 kids this year. These uniforms (which are 9 years old) were sized for the set of kids they had 9 years ago.  We have to make the assorted sizes of this year's band fit the uniforms that we have, keeping in mind the director's guidelines that he wants them snug - no "potato sacks", as he put it. And when you have 12 kids that need a size 26 pant and only 4 pairs of 26's, well, you do the best you can.

So last week a group of parents got together and got everything sorted and labeled and prepped.  That took two and a half days. This week, the director is sending us small groups of students, who try on pants and jackets and shoes and it all gets packed into a garment bag and we keep records of who is wearing what and...

William and I have been there Monday from 12-3:00, and Monday night went back for a BPA meeting in the evening. We were there at 8:30 this morning, and left at 1 because the director had them over at the stadium and it was decided it would be easier to continue fittings during the evening session.  When I told William we had to go back tonight, he was NOT happy.  But I finally got smart and called a neighbor's daughter to come babysit. He's been a trooper, but even he has his limits.

Me? I'm being groomed to run this show next year because the current moms in charge both have seniors.  That means that next year, I get to be there for the ENTIRE process, kind of whether I want to or not.  It's the penalty of being a stay-at-home mom - there are jobs that have to be done during the day, so not having to take vacation time is a big deal.

Hmmm...  Maybe I should start looking for a job.