Dear Kid,

Today is going to be an amazing day. Except for the Getting Up at 5:45am on the First Day of a Long Weekend Part.

Other than that, it’s going to be awesome.

Except for the driving. The early wakeup and the driving, not so great. The rest of the day, fantabulous.

Can you tell that I’m excited?

Partly because we get to see you (yay!) and feed you (whoops! Hungry college kid alert! There goes the tuition money!).

And partly because Dad and I get to spend some time together which it turns out we actually enjoy doing. Who knew?

And partly because we’re going to the Ohio University football game. Which we’ve never done before.

We’re excited to see the team play, we’re excited to see you on the sidelines, and we’re definitely excited to see the Marching 110 (about whom we have heard so much).

I looked up the Marching 110 (I think I’m required to write it in italics). I have it on great authority (and by “great authority” I mean the Marching 110’s website) that they are the Most Exciting Band in the Land! Emphasis on “exciting.” Which surprised me because I expected the emphasis on MOST. That may explain why the band has never called me for advice.

The Marching 110 currently has 245 members. The “110” refers to the original number of band members. And to the amount of effort (110%) band members are expected to put in.

The Marching 110 consists of the following instrumentation:  Clarinets, Alto Saxophones, Tenor Saxophones, Mellophones, Trumpets, Trombones, Baritones, Sousaphones, and Percussion.

No kazoos.

Ohio University's Marching 110 does not feature kazoos. DearKidLoveMom.comWait. Mellophones? What the heck is a mellophone?

I immediately turned to My Friend the Internet.

Do you know what a mellophone is?

  1. A brass instrument that says, “dude” a lot
  2. The thing you toast and then put on s’mores
  3. A silent cell phone
  4. A brass instrument similar to the orchestral French horn, played mainly in military and concert bands
  5. No, I don’t know what a mellophone is.

It is not at all obvious to me that I will know a mellophone from any other horn, but I plan to enjoy them (probably in an un-mellow way).

Today is going to be a great day.

Love, Mom