January

Bradley is a car guy. His favorite toys as a toddler were Matchbox cars. Like many boys he collected them, crashed them and raced them. Brad even slept with his favorite cars. Cars to me are nice but I would not call myself a car guy.

I got to see through Brad’s eyes how he looks at cars when we went to the Auto Show. As we progressed from car to car, Brad explained to me what he liked about that car, what he did not like about others. He explained to me the design elements, the lines. I have a whole new appreciation for cars. Still not a car guy but I won’t look at a new model the same way again.

Nicole joined her High School’s color guard. It is a group of girls who perform a dance-ish routine with flags and other props. I have to admit, I was less than excited to go watch wave after wave of performances when I went to her first competition. I was very pleasantly surprised to find it much more entertaining than I thought. Catching a spinning prop while moving and needing to be in another spot all in time with the other performers in your team is very impressive! I actually look forward to going to future competitions.

Nicole auditioned and was selected to play flute in the Eastern Michigan University Honors Band. She was at the university from Friday until Sunday practicing for a performance Sunday afternoon. The performance was extremely impressive. I am delighted that Nicole loves her music and has the talent. I enjoy listening to her practice at home but I especially going to the performances. I grew up going to performances that my parents played in. When I was a child, I used to try to identify the different instruments playing and see if I could see the person playing it in the sea of orchestra performers. Now I get to play that game and see her! A proud dad.