My super awesome son joined his school band this year. He’s been playing maybe 6 months. Both my husband and myself are musicians: he plays tuba, I play every band instrument (I’m a band director!). While we’ve never pushed Braddock into music, as musicians, there really wasn’t a decision of whether he would be in band, it was more of what he would play. Honestly, he wasn’t sure he wanted to, but now, he says it is his favorite class. And that makes this mom/band director’s heart happy.
Back at Christmas break, his director gave him some music to learn, with the promise that if he learned the music, he might be able to perform with the 7th ad 8th grade band in their concert band evaluation. He was super excited, and, as a family, we dug into the music. And he loved it.
Today was their evaluation concert (I call it Festival-I’m old fashioned). Two buses of 7th ad 8th grade band students, and one little 6th grader whose tuba is bigger than him. Oh, how this mom’s heart was happy, watching him fall in line with the big kids, sitting on a stage where I have directed other students just like him, seeing him with such a look of concentration on his face as he performed music that he worked so hard on for three months.
The band played quite well, receiving superior ratings for their performance. And my son? He can’t wait for next year. 
The Lumberjack House 