Oh my, you’ve grown!

 I couldn’t have been in a better mood. I’d been excited all day, waking up super early like a kid at Christmas. I glided through the day with every irritation washing over me. Even a class of howling (rather than singing) year 6s on a hot Friday afternoon at the end of the year in one blighted by Covid , the day before they go on a residential trip only made me smile. Nothing was getting to me because I was getting my youth orchestra back together that evening.

I was almost hysterical with excitement throughout the day. My eyes leaked when someone in the staff room said, “Nice pear.” (They we’re eating a pear)

I think people started to worry about me. 

People don’t understand why, after a week of (sometimes awful) music making, I want to give up some of my Friday to make more. I can’t explain it but I have missed it so much. 

I have understood Covid restrictions but that doesn’t mean they didn’t hurt. Although, as a children’s group , we could have met sooner we decided to wait but the waiting is finally over. We’ve had to change venue but that joy of being able to make music together again is still there.

My excitement didn’t lead to disappointment. Instead, I had the best time. We played our favourites (Children’s March 4 times), ate cake , chatted, reminisced and mourned the loss of a year of Christmas Carols. 

However, I was like a granny. 

When I was a child we used to laugh at my grandparents. It was a family joke. We’d be in the car practising our impressions.

“My! How you’ve grown!”

“How did you get to be so tall?”

“Have you been sleeping in a grow bag?”

“What have you been feeding them, Lin? Potash?” (Grandad was a gardener)

We’d do our impressions with a quavering voice and watery eyes, pretending to press a coin into the other’s palm and whispering, “Get yourself an ice cream. Don’t tell your mum!”

We couldn’t understand it. My recollection is that we saw them most Saturdays but maybe I was wrong. Maybe they hadn’t seen us for 15 months (which is how long we haven’t been able to rehearse for) because it’s very difficult not to get a bit watery eyed and say, “Wow! Haven’t you grown?”