Annnnnnnnnnnd…back to reality!

My Minnesota Brass drum corps adventure came to an exciting close this weekend–we won the world championships in Rochester, NY! It’s the first time in the 30+ years that Minnesota Brass has been competing in DCA that we’ve won the championship. How lucky am I to have picked this year to participate!?

I’m sure I’ll have a few more observations/thoughts about this challenging and rewarding adventure to share once a few more days pass. Right now, my aching body is relieved that the season is over, and I’m thrilled to turn my attention to writing again–finally! It’s fall (I don’t care what the calendar says; it’s fall when school starts), and I am excited to be back to my routine and to have a new work-for-hire book assignment to start. Meanwhile, here are a few pix from this past weekend.

Randy and I after prelims on Saturday

The whole color guard (I’m in the hat in the back row)–what a talented bunch of people!

We take the field in our boat formation (more visible from higher up). I’m the front oar on the right. The guy in the cape is our Viking hero, who dies in battle but lives again in Valhalla, the heaven for Viking warriors.

Guard and staff after the win. We stayed and celebrated on the field in the rain, dancing around and clutching our medals and hugging each other. So many of them (the whole corps, not just color guard) have been in MBI for quite a while, and have been working toward this win year after year.

Whew! We made it. There were times I wasn’t sure we would…

Thank you, all of you online friends who have been offering me support and encouragement since I started this adventure in January. Your words always meant a lot to me — I was so far out of my comfort zone, but I knew I had people cheering me on. You rock.