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With my daughter it is a brief text every other day. I think it depends on the kid. Last year I did not text her at all because I did not want to barge in on her corps time. She asked me to text a little more often becaused she missed talking to her family. What can I say I am just that much fun to talk to.

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I remember a few years ago hearing that some corps don't allow cell phones on tour at all. The idea is that you are on tour to focus exclusively on the task at hand. There were cell phones available for emergency communication, and there were numbers provided to parents if they needed to get in touch, but for those three months, you were a part of a collective. Is that still the case at some corps? I know that none of the groups I've taught have had such a rule, but I remember hearing that some had such policies.

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I usually text with my son once or twice a week. He's like his old man...he just doesn't have a lot to say:

My text to him: Wow, I saw the show on Fan Network last night and I though you guys looked and sounded great. It's really starting to come together!

His text back, several hours later-- Yeah, we had a good run.

Oh, well...at least I find out he's still alive.

That's "War and Peace" compared to mine. I'll maybe get a "meh", or if feeling really verbose, "purdy good." Ay least it's almost every day.

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It sounds like a lot of the kids would rather... not bother?

No different than in the rest of society. We were all kids once...we know how that works. If a parent is texting about the results of a show, they may be hearing from their kid more than most other parents whose kid is away.

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To be honest, this year, I haven't heard much but I saw that coming. He just graduated high school so his leaving for drum corps has also been, technically, his flight from the coop. His dad and I have decided to give him a little space. I'm a 4 year drum corps mom, so take all of this commentary for what it is worth with that in mind.

He does text and call when he can, and he communicates via FB every once in a while. I know that when he left this year, he made a decision to focus on drum corps as much as possible for this summer...something he didn't always do in the past.

I'd like to say a word about phone calls, that I've come to learn. The kids almost never have a quiet place to talk. Talking on the phone on the bus=impossible (especially if you are on the percussion bus). Tried and failed on that front for three years so this year I know better. If it is a free day, it's possible if they have a few minutes between busing back and forth and enjoying very precious time to themselves. But most of the time, they are always in the presence of other people talking and/or doing other things. It's just not a private lifestyle. I know that when my kiddo can steal a moment, he calls. And if I text him and ask him to call, he does. So for them, texting is more valuable than ever. My son's explained to me almost every time that he calls that texting is always preferred, and he usually texts me back even if it takes a while.

As for friends and extended family, when he left on tour he said on his FB that this summer is not about his phone, it's about the job he was selected to do. He suggested texting him or leaving him messages on his FB and he would do his best to respond to them all as time permits and from what I heard, he has, even if it is a simple "thanks" reply. I was actually proud of this decision, especially considering the issues our youth seem to have today to unplug and go live life!

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Okay, I'll chime in here. When my husband and I marched, phone calls home were very few and far between. Lines at the pay phone, little time to talk. Now I'm the Mom. I text with our son most days, he texts with Dad a little less (I'm the one to ask all the questions!!). As a parent, I like it. As a FMM, I wish the outside world wasn't so accessible. It's so weird to me that kids from two different corps can be texting each other on their respective busses!!! We are maybe an atypical family because we "know" what drum corps is....we both marched. I wonder if we would communicate as much if that were not the case. All of that said, this "available all the time" existence is what is normal now. Busses have wifi...I remember being happy when our busses actually delivered us to where we supposed to be!!!

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Interesting topic. I liked leaving the real world behind for a summer even though I had a phone. I would call the woman every two or three days with some text messaging usually once a day. The parents? Once a week.

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