My Funny Valentine

So here is a summary of our day yesterday, just because I think it is weird and wonderful:

• I get up early and grade papers. Ben gets up and clears the driveway with the snow blower he inherited from a choir member who bought a new one. Ben is so excited about the process that I joke that he now probably wants the snow blower to be his Valentine. He responds,"Hmmmm....maybe."
• We go to Colony Inn in the Amanas for breakfast. It is more food than I usually eat in a week, but it's sooo good.
• We get lost on our way home from the Amanas. We are not sure why. Maybe it's the snow that has us all disoriented? And being lost in rural Iowa is interesting; there are few markers, and at one point I uttered the phrase, "Well, I know we've already passed this herd of cattle." And Ben says, "Okay, good," like it makes perfect sense to say such things.
• I check the mail when we get home and have the most wonderful valentine in the mail from my niece Kaya. I love that kid. I call her, but she's not home. I talk to her little brother Coleton, who tells me all about the monster truck he got for Valentine's day.
• We go to the gym, and I flip from bad chick flick to bad chick flick while on the elliptical.
• We go to the flood photography exhibit at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. It's sad, but a lovely testament to the community's response to this summer's events. My favorite photograph was one of an Iowa City police officer carrying a small boy who was being evacuated from his home on his shoulders. If you're in the area, you should go before it closes this weekend.
• We go to a show choir competition at Benton Community High School that several of Ben's youth group members are participating in, and we are privy to a whole new sub-culture. We both had show choirs at our high schools, but it was nothing like this. Dear Internet, I swear to you that I will go attend most of one of these competitions and document it for you. You. need. to. know. You need to know about the parking attendants and the shuttle bus. You need to know the way your jaw drops to the floor when they tell you how much you must pay to watch high school swing choirs perform. You need to know the feeling of walking into a gymnasium FULL of people who have paid said fee and how you worry for your life should you there be some sort of emergency requiring everyone to exit the building. You need to know about the twinkle lights. You need to know about the cheers the various groupies have developed. You need to know how the audience sings and dances along with the performers. You need to know about the parents with their T-shirts and photo buttons and how they keep score during the awards ceremony. You need to know about the country music they play between sets and how your husband tries to stop you as you dance along with all those people packed in the gym. You need to know about the awkward young men and the way they awkwardly lift tiny, pretty girls. You need to know about all the members of F.F.A (And I'm not talking about Future Farmers of America here. For those of you G-ross alumni who know what I'm talking about, I love you very much!) You need to know about the trampy costumes, the sparkles, the make-up, and the hair. You need know what it is like to question your desire for your children to inherit your husband's musical ability because with each costume change you are mentally calculating what this must cost all those parents sitting around you. You need to know about the dedication and abilities of these kids. You need to know about the vampires; yes, I said vampires. You need to know about the cheesy M.C. who accidentally makes a team think they have won first place when they have won second. You need to know (although this wasn't a terrible surprise given my speech geek past) that they started their day a 8:10 A.M. and weren't starting the last performance until something like 11 P.M. You simply need to know. But to tide you over here is a clip from Cedar Rapids Jefferson's Ovation. I had such trouble deciding which one to show you, but this song choice is simply sublime:

• When we get home at 9:00 PM, I set about making a veggie pizza, and we start to drink the wine Ben bought in London. This wine seals the deal, and I fall into a coma.