Those horrible, hot days of summer band. Rehearsing drill until your legs burn.

Doing the show until you are positively sick of the band director saying "let's do it just one more time." Loading and unloading instruments, carrying flags and props on and off the field with timing of a militay offensive, day after day after day. Ice to relieve bruises on wrists, foreheads, ankles and swollen lips. Doing pushups. Standing at attention for five more minutes than you can bare. Sunburn. Wanting to sell your soul for 5 more minutes of sleep. Flags in the face, rifles in the ribs. Wanting to give it all up and join the chess club. Hearing the show music in your sleep. Sectionals. Hearburn. Hearbreak. Drumming on everything in sight. Tossing anything you can pick up. Thinking marching band was a stupid idea to get out of P.E. Running laps because someone else was late AGAIN. Realizing color guard looked a lot easier than it is. Doing more pushups. Wondering what happened to your life. Eating dinner in the car while changing clothes and doing homework. Lost shoes and lost mouthpieces. Blood blisters on your palms. Long underwear under your uniform and icy wind in your face. Learning the fine art of sleeping on a bus. Tears and teasing. Learning you have 200 new brothers and sisters who stick by you through thick and thin. Knowing you have 300 new parents who will cheer for you, no matter what. Laughing with others and learning more about yourself than you knew. Doing more pushups. Thinking the show will never work. And then, finally, it comes all together and you have achieved perfection , drumming your hands off and playing your brains out and tossing higher than the sky. A slice of time in a stadium when everyone cheers and your mom cries and pictures get taken and once, just once, you have the world in your hands. And the band marches out of the stadium and down the street, always together whether it's success or not, and you know by the feeling in your hear it doesn't get any better than this. And you know if your director asked you to turn around and "do it just one more time a little better" you would!!