I’ve had a very eventful weekend but there is only one event that sticks out in my mind.

 

So I’m not going tell you about the Steam Powered Giraffe concert my husband and I attended with my daughters. I’m not going to go into how much angst I had when I found out my oldest daughter went online four or five months ago, bought her ticket and planned to drive up to Everett on her own without asking or telling us. I know she’s 18 and can do those things on her own; it was just another one of those shocking realizations that my kids are growing up.

 

I’ll not attempt to enlighten you to how it is that my youngest daughter, my husband and I all ended up going to this concert with my oldest daughter, but since we did we drove and paid for dinner. I won’t try to explain how we all sat in different seats because we bought tickets at different times.

 

I’m not going to describe how great the show was or how the lady a couple rows in front of us was so irritatingly enthusiastic I watched the show through her head in the nose bleed section of Everett’s historic theater.

 

 

I’m not into sports, so I’m certainly not going to tell you I got on the Seahawks’ band wagon, went to Costco and did the most irresponsible thing I’ve done since the party days of my 20s and spent $100 on Superbowl snacks for the four of us who may or may not all be home to watch it.

 

 

I won’t illustrate how in hindsight I realize I didn’t need to buy the snacks at Costco considering it’s only the four of us. I won’t speculate if I got carried away about joining Seahawks mania or buying boxed foods I never buy, but we all know how sinfully delicious they are from trying the samples while shopping at Costco. I don’t need to point out how we’ll probably be eating those boxed foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next week until they’re gone.

 

I don’t need to expound my philosophy on football, or any sport for that matter, that the last 5 minutes is the only part of the game worth watching or how I really just want to see all the commercials and the half-time show. I won’t even portray how I envision the scenario if we all actually end up watching the game: sitting around with our laptops waiting for commercials to air; if there is screaming and cheering by the crowd or announcers, we’ll look up and catch it on the replay.

 

 

No, the biggest phenomenon that stands out in my weekend is how my oldest daughter worked two days solid to finish a digital drawing of the band members of Steam Powered Giraffe, then leapt out of bed Saturday at 7:00am to rush off to Office Depot with a flash drive to get the picture printed so she could have it signed by the band members at noon.

 

 

I haven’t seen that much enthusiasm out of her since she was shorter than me. This is a child who has always had to have a better reason to get out of bed than life. Even when she gets up on her own for school it’s with much reluctance. This is a kid who has always believed if something can be done early, it can be done later too and timing is everything.

 

 

But you know what this means? It means I know she can do it, she can no longer deny her ability to efficiently get out of bed and I have proof signed by all the members of Steam Powered Giraffe.

 

Gretchen Leigh is a stay-at-home mom who lives in Covington. She is committed to using her newfound proof against her daughter. You can also read more of her writing and her daily blog on her websitelivingwithgleigh.com or on Facebook at “Living with Gleigh.” Her column is available every week atmaplevalleyreporter.com under the Lifestyles section.