Now that they're back home

[KeepOnFoodTruckin]

Welcome home, marching members! I'm sure all of your families are glad to have you back though life is different now.

From a mother's perspective, watching a kid who has marched all summer transition back into "the real world" can be interesting.

I remember my daughter returning home last year and some odditities in behavior after life on the road. (She came home early this year due to injury so things weren't so "ingrained" in the transition, though I still saw a few things)

I had to laugh when I'd peek in her room and find her sleeping on the floor or she would ask me what to have for lunch when the kitchen was steps away with whatever she wanted at her disposal. It took a while for her to become accustomed to life without the whiteboard of schedued activities.

I also remember her having to always stay busy -- doing laundry, picking things up around the house, not quite knowing what to do with free time again. Asking "What should I do now?" Fortunately sleeping 8 hours a night (and in a bed) did return and finding her own rhythm in her life came back to her but it was interesting to watch.

I think the most subtle might have been watching her cope with social situations. When it came to returning for her senior year of high school last year, she had an absolute disinterest in the typical "girl drama" of her peers. She'd moved beyond it and didn't have much tollerance for unkindness and petty squables any more though she'd become far more accepting of other peoples views and had really grasped the concept of "agreeing to disagree." Yes, that's part of growing up but it came quickly to her after living, eating, sleeping, showering and traveling with her corpsmates. I think she gained a perspective that her peers hadn't had the opportunity to experience and it made her deal with things differently. Perhaps that's the aspect I was most proud to observe.

Thought it might be fun to talk about transitioning back into home life. What changes do you see in your kids after their summer on the road? What do they seem to miss the most? What quirks are you noticing? How have they grown?

[Jim Anello]

This is a while ago, but I remember picking my youngest brother up in Racine in 1978 after the Kilts returned. My younger brother and I counselled him about cleaning up his language before he walked in our parents' door. :-)

Edited August 14, 2007 by Jim Anello

[CowboyKen]

This is a while ago, but I remember picking my youngest brother up in Racine in 1978 after the Kilts returned. My younger brother and I counselled him about cleaning up his language before he walked in our parents' door. :-)

How true!! b**bs

[bluecoats88]

This is a while ago, but I remember picking my youngest brother up in Racine in 1978 after the Kilts returned. My younger brother and I counselled him about cleaning up his language before he walked in our parents' door. :-)

Yeah I made that mistake once

My brother told me the story of when he picked his son up from his first year marching with Glassmen (1989). He was waiting outside the buses watching all the kids get off the bus and not seeing his son. then some kid walks up and puts his head on my brother's shoulder (my brother was 6'5"). Turns out it was his son and he didn't recognize him at all. He had grown taller and thinner and his voice dropped.

[DB tenor mom]

I love reading these posts about the changes seen in kids. This was my son's first year in drum corps. He's not home yet; Dutch Boy is leaving CA today after a couple days of doing touristy stuff. I won't see him until Saturday; they have a show that night in Kitchener. Then a 4-hour drive home.

I thought he'd have a week to decompress before reporting to band camp at Western Michigan (his second year), but he informed me a few days ago that he's going to help out at a high school band camp two hours from home next week. Then home for a day and half to get packed up for school.

It's a good thing I went to the shows in Belding, MI and Dayton, OH to see Dutch Boy, 'cause I'm sure not gonna see much of him before he goes back to school. But I'm not complaining. I know he loves drumline and so do I. Fortunately it's only a two-hour drive to Kalamazoo to see him in the Bronco Marching Band.

[tommytimp]

That was the interesting thing to me; people always thought I was tanner, taller, and more focused after I got home. The "focus" part was the most interesting. I like the idea of sleeping on the floor just inches from one's bed, though.

[Hulka]

I think the most subtle might have been watching her cope with social situations. When it came to returning for her senior year of high school last year, she had an absolute disinterest in the typical "girl drama" of her peers. She'd moved beyond it and didn't have much tollerance for unkindness and petty squables any more though she'd become far more accepting of other peoples views and had really grasped the concept of "agreeing to disagree." Yes, that's part of growing up but it came quickly to her after living, eating, sleeping, showering and traveling with her corpsmates. I think she gained a perspective that her peers hadn't had the opportunity to experience and it made her deal with things differently. Perhaps that's the aspect I was most proud to observe.

When parents ask me about drum corps and what it's like this is something very similar to what I tell them, encouraging them to let their son or daughter march. Becoming a better performer is perhaps the smallest benefit to marching drum corps.

This is a while ago, but I remember picking my youngest brother up in Racine in 1978 after the Kilts returned. My younger brother and I counselled him about cleaning up his language before he walked in our parents' door. :-)

Haha, I remember dropping the F-bomb to my parents a day or two after my first summer of drum corps. My mom never uses language like that and her jaw dropped to the floor. My dad justed chuckled. It took me awhile to adjust to the real world where cussing like a sailor is not the norm.

[RBarron10]

Boxers and scratching - You guys know what I'm talking about. Can't scratch around mamma like you did on tour.

[thatonekid]

I remember I came home, my mom would get so angry with me, because she would ask me what I would want for lunch, or what type of bed sheets I needed to get for my dorm, etc. and I would tell her "I don't know!" I had spent my whole summer being told what to do, and she didn't understand that at all. Needlesss to say she finally figured it out and I got back into my groove.

[Bevinator]

The first year my daughter got home from tour the language thing was an issue also. I told her "you may have talked that way on tour...but not here"....problem solved. She also mentioned wierd getting use to taking a shower by yourself and sleeping without people all around you.