She's "All That" In Our Book

Last night Rebekah performed in the first band concert of the year for Paseo Verde. Though she's a 6th grader this year, she and Crystal were both asked to play with the 5th graders as well, since there are no trombonists in 5th grade. So, she had a fair bit of playing time. I remember how impressed I was last year, her first year in band, at how well they performed. And this year? Even better. The band got considerably smaller, but it was still able to hold its own. Rebekah and Crystal are the only ones playing trombone in the 6th grade, and we could hear them just fine. Everything sounded great - even the trombone solo that Rebekah was a little worried about. And then, Ms. Paul announced the five students that she had nominated for the All State Band, that will take place in the spring. Rebekah was one of the five, and our two rows of family clapped hard as she stood to receive her recognition. Then, as the five nominees sat down, Ms. Paul told us that only one of the five would be picked by the All State Committee to perform in the All State Band, and that student is Rebekah Brewer! Wow. You should have heard the intake of breath from our two rows, and the applause that erupted again. Joseph said to Rebekah later, with clear brotherly pride in his face, "I clapped so hard for you!" Rebekah looked stunned but pleased. We are very proud of her, and are so glad that she'll have this experience. And only as a side note - so that I can remember - Jalen Andrew had a great time rocking out to the band music. He was right with the rhythm, and was waving his arms to direct the music, and bouncing up and down to the pieces. It was way too cute. No doubt about it . . . that boy's got soul. And of course, James was a live wire half of the time (or maybe it is a slightly higher percentage than that). The only thing that got us throught the concert with James was the card game Blink that I packed along. Boy howdy, that boy sure loves his games. Okay, back to Rebekah. She looked very pretty last night, all dressed up for the evening. Sometimes I look at her and can't believe how grown up she is becoming. Sometimes it's hard to see that transformation in the day to day living space called home, that we share. But last night, as I watched her perform, independent of the family and her siblings - doing her thing - it struck me, just how much she is growing into a beautiful young lady. In some ways I want to stop the clock, not ready to charge into the teenage years with her - in other ways, I just want to sit back and watch as the transformation from girl to young woman happens.