Headed home...

We had our latest wake-up of the trip today...I think it was 8:30! I slept so well...I can't tell you how much I loved that bed! I made haste getting ready for the day, knowing Mindy would most likely be waiting. I had packed most of my suitcase up the night before. The great thing about going non-stop on this trip was that I didn't really have time to mess up my room. I was pretty much just there to shower and sleep. Plus, I didn't have five other fairly messy critters trashing the joint. As much as I missed the rest of my family and as tired as I was from the pace of the trip, it was kind of nice to only have to take care of myself. Mindy was on her own in her own room...I'll leave it to your imagination what that room looked like, with four teenage girls flying in and out of it. No, I won't. I missed capturing the big mess...for some reason, I didn't ever have my camera at the right time, but I did get one shot of Mindy trying to pack her suitcase. It wasn't pretty. And, man, was I in the wrong room. Remember those snacks I forgot to pack? Well, there was enough chocolate to solve world peace (if women ran the world)...and Pringles...and Monsters (those evil energy drinks created by people who don't have to exist with the people who consume them).

The pool...duh...

Our cottage...

Be sure to enlarge these photos...

These tiny pix don't do justice...

So Mindy shows up in my room, just as I'm about to head out. She has a strange look on her face and says she needs to talk. Okay. She takes me aside and tells me that shortly after I left her room, a bunch of boys showed up. NINE boys, to be exact. And I remind you that I left her room at close to 1 am, long after curfew. Apparently, her roommates had planned a little party without her knowledge! They said they didn't want her to know ahead of time because I was a chaperone. Well, little did they know that my daughter is very honest with me. As I told them all later, the reason I trust Mindy is because I can trust Mindy. Anyway, as the story goes, they played cards, ate junk food and finished trashing the room...nothing permanent or costly, just inconsiderate. And the last one left after 3 am! I didn't really like being had, and I'm pretty sure steam was rolling out of my ears as I ate my piece of toast for breakfast! We weren't in a traditional hotel setting. Our cottages were fairly spread out, and they were wandering around outside in the middle of the night! The longer I sat there, the madder I got. At first, Mindy didn't want me to take action or say anything to the kids. She must have done some thinking of her own during breakfast...this time we ate at different tables, because I knew I couldn't hide my irritation from the other kids. After breakfast, Mindy and I talked again, and I told her that I wouldn't turn the kids in to the directors unless they refused my consequences. She didn't argue with me.

Funny how it doesn't all fit back into the suitcase...

I went back to my room and finished packing up my suitcase, then headed to Mindy's room. I jotted down a quick list of all the offenders. The rest of the girls were all wandering about the resort, so I just hung out and waited for them to return. One by one, they trickled in. Funny thing, a knock on the door brought one of those offenders...he was a bit surprised to find me there. I asked him to come in and join us. After he tried really hard to cover his visit to a girl's room with the lame excuse of having been looking for me, I informed him that I had a list and he was on it. He got fairly quiet, fairly quickly. And please note that, if I haven't mentioned it in my previous posts, all the band kids were clearly informed after the first night of infractions that girls were NOT allowed in boys' rooms and boys were NOT allowed in girls' rooms. So...

It's too bad we didn't have more time at the resort...

When all the girls were present and accounted for, I gave them about a five-minute lecture on safety, lack of trust, disrespect, blah, blah, blah...what ticked me off most was that they (Mindy's roommates) had told me what a "cool mom" I was and how they always wanted me to be their chaperone from now on...and then they snowed me. Really, I've been at this parenting thing long enough...I was obviously very off my game. I finished up my lecture by informing them that they all owed me push-ups and that if they didn't do them, they would be turned in to the directors. And that I had a list. I told the boy that, in light of trip policy, he'd better disappear...and spread the word.

Mindy and her best bud, Shannon...

I headed down to the pool area to hunt down some of the boys. One by one, they came up and asked me if they were on my "list"...like they didn't know. At first, I think they thought I was bluffing. Now, it's not that a good "mom" look won't do it from time to time...in fact, one of my favorite movie scenes is from Raising Helen...you know the part where the older sister busts into the hotel room and reads the riot act to the teenage boy who has decided it would be a good idea to reconvene the school dance in a more private locale? Yeah. Well, combine that with a little experience from my army days...the days where I was a very young looking lieutenant in charge, sometimes, of men twice my age...I learned very quickly that the eyes sometimes speak louder than words.

Fine character development, don't you think?

He did push-ups the day before for pushing a girl into the pool

and causing bodily injury...

a scraped leg equals a bruised ego...

Once we were all on the same sheet of music, so to speak, they all complied. Even the most macho of the group obliged by doing his push-ups. A few of the kids had already left for the airport, and I had a couple of whiners...the ones who weren't all that good at doing push-ups...they got a little physical fitness training along with their discipline. Shortly after that, it was time to gather our bags and head to the buses. We got our group checked in and had plenty of time to do a little airport souvenir shopping and grab some lunch. Funny story...one of the boys on "the list" but not in our travel group found me in the airport gift shop. He came up and asked me if he owed me push-ups...as if he didn't know. Then he said, "Are you, like, gonna tell my parents or something if I don't do them?!" His parents were also chaperones and within eyeshot...and, by the way, live down the street from me. Like, yeah. So he dropped and gave me his push-ups right there in the gift shop. I had a very hard time not laughing.

I really do love these kids...

We had a relaxing lunch and played cards for a while. We tried to get a group picture, but I think we missed a few of the wanderers. I actually did laugh at one point. There are a few in the drumline that just. can't. sit. still. They have to be drumming on something or someone at all times. Mindy has her moments. They all do. But there are a few that must be contained. So while they were waiting, out came the sticks and the practice pads. And the beat. Most of the time, they're playing their parts in the show. And if they don't have their sticks, they'll just SING their parts. Lots of "dig-a-da-dig-a-da...DAT DAT DAT"! Times about 30 kids. For the most part, it doesn't phase me, but not everyone appreciates their talent. Steve, the percussion director, told them at one point to make it constructive noise and to make the sticks disappear at boarding time. Hee. Can you even imagine?

Our plane left on time. I think they were all a little blue. The season was over. The trip was pretty much over. And Christmas break was over...school the next day. Bleh. Even for me. The gray skies that had moved in over Phoenix, bringing a cold misty rain, matched our collective mood. We tried to figure out a way (did I say we?) to miss our connecting flight in Chicago...we dreamed of a blizzard that would snow us in...no such luck. Even with barely more than 30 minutes between flights, we made it. And somewhere in between flights, they got a little wild. It might have been the flourescent lights above the moving sidewalks. Who knew how entertaining those could be for highschoolers? Mostly boys, I might add. Whatever the case, they were WOUND UP by the time we filled the back end of the commuter jet. I think I saw a tear roll down the face of another passenger. To give you a mental image, picture half a plane full of passengers raising their arms in the air and squealing with delight upon takeoff. Yep. And what did I do? Yep. In my defense, I refrained from using flash so as not to draw attention. Thank GOD in heaven we were on the ground in Indy in about 45 minutes.

More Photoshop...

We collected our luggage and hauled it out to our waiting bus. I have to say, with the exception of minor glitches on day one, we had a very smooth trip...buses were always waiting, flights were on time, no luggage was lost, and every teenager was accounted for. We arrived back at the high school around midnight. Our trip ended in the dark and cold, just as it started, but in the midst of unloading suitcases and starting frozen cars, we were all entertained by one last antic...it seems one of our snare drummers thought it would be a great idea to collect all the in-flight magazines and use them to spell out his name in the parking lot. And, yes, I took pictures.

We hadn't eaten a thing since Phoenix, so Mindy and I headed straight for Taco Bell and enjoyed our midnight meal along with an episode of Gilmore Girls. A few short hours later, it was time to get up for school...good thing we were used to not getting any sleep!

And, for the record, the boys on "the list" have probably already forgotten that there was a list, the girls think I'm mean (I'm okay with that), and Mindy still thinks I'm a "cool" mom. And I'll be waiting outside their door on the next band trip.

To see a slide show of the day's pictures, click here.