30 Days of Erica age 14

This was the age that Erica went to High School and was in 9th grade.  She decided that she wanted to do band as her Fine Arts credit.  She was already doing well with her Saxophone so I thought it was a natural progression for her to do band.  But towards the end of 8th grade she came home wanting to try out for Color Guard.
What was Color Guard?   Little did I know that it would be the start of something BIG for Erica.  She came from a dancing background and had learned tap/ballet/jazz/gymnastics and had learned a little bit of baton twirling.  But I didn't know the flag girls in a marching program were part of a group called Color Guard.  After she explained it to me, I figured she would be able to do this with her dancing background.  She tried out and MADE the guard.

What I didn't know was that making the guard meant summer practices!  We always cherished our summers around the pool and lake and taking family vacations to Greers Ferry Lake.  I soon found out that this commitment to Color Guard was a full time commitment.  But.....it really turned out great and she excelled at Guard for the next 4 years.

She received a Saber for Christmas and was so surprised and happy to get it.  For those of you who may not know what all Guard entails....it is huge!.  They spin flags/rifles/sabers/and all styles of novelty props.  It takes alot of practice and upper body work to learn to control the gear and execute the moves with perfection.

My little Freshman was doing so well in Band.  She had a new group of friends at school and they were a fun loving group.  It consisted of grades 9-12 students and the older students took the younger ones under their wings and helped them transition to High School.  3 Juniors took a special interest in her and taught her to enjoy school.  Seth, Ann, and Alan ( yes, Alan Baumer) started doing group things with her.  They dressed up for Halloween and went trick or treating, went to movies, played on the playgrounds, had picnics, and just had fun outside of school.  The band performed at football games and went on competition trips.  She fell in love with all of it and really had a great time. Her grades even went up because of her good morale. Middle school almost did her in so this was a breath of fresh air.
Spoiler:   this was the beginning of the making of a beautiful marriage.