February this year brought nary a vision of dancing hearts
in hues of rhodamine, rubine, or red,
nor a vase of over-priced, under-scented,
long-stem, short-lived roses with drooping heads;
no Belgian chocolate unfairly traded
or Hallmark cards with verse over-rated,
or Rom Com flicks with similar plots,
or candle-lit dinners in crowded night spots.
One might think that The Garners were devoid of all romance.
But no, the dominant theme we were singing this month involved preparations for the princess, whoops, The Daughter’s 16th birthday. Valentines Day simply pales in comparison. 😉
The work had begun a few months prior with Papa Gene helping us secure a venue. We considered the elegant country club (boring menu), and the spartan Ruritan building (lots of potential and not so pretentious). The Daughter picked the Ruritan building. As time drew nearer there were invitations to write, decorations to make, a menu to plan, and groceries to buy. We had a LOT of fun pulling this together, if it was just a tiny bit bit stressful. Fortunately the party was at the end of our “off week,” so we didn’t miss any school. 🙂 Papa Gene helped with everything, even making room in his freezer for temporary food storage and helping to hang lights and paper-chains and greet guests! The Daughter had a lovely turn out – good friends came from Young Musicians of Virginia, her French and Drawing class, and American Heritage Girls! Our board game buddies from North Carolina made a special trip to join us for the party, and take pictures (thank you)! It was a wonderful time! The Daughter asked her friends to bring socks in order to bless our local homeless shelter and she received an amazing quantity!
The Daughter had two other big events during February. Early in the month District Chorus (Virginia Beach, Norfolk and the Eastern Shore of Virginia) met on Friday to rehearse and on Saturday to perform. The music choices were wonderful and we got chills during a moving and powerful rendition of “My Soul’s Been Anchored In the Lord.”
Mid-month, actually the very next day after her party, The Daughter attended the YMV Winter Formal which was both work and play because the Jazz Band performed a few sets, including her vocal debut of Fly Me to the Moon. She looked absolutely beautiful in the dress you may have noticed in the photos from Savoring January…
February was a big month for her, and lots of fun!
The rest of the month for the rest of the family was fairly low-key. We took walks at the Zoo and the Beach. I had Bellissima rehearsals. Our director has pulled together a fantastic program with poetry texts on the theme of creation. It is a joy to work on music that is well written and inspiring!
My book shelf: Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth (again) by William Bryant Logan, and The Great Christ Comet, by Colin Nicholls. I kept up The Long Roll with Mary Johnston, and burned through Kimberly Strassel’s infuriating book The Intimidation Game: How the Left is Silencing Free Speech. With The Daughter, I’m reading King Lear, and Idylls of the King by Tennyson.
Making pictures is savoring life intensely every hundredth of a second.
Marc Riboud
Rabbit Trails 