Supermom Returns

I can bring home the bacon,

Fry it up in the pan,

And get the kid to his lesson

In my spotless minivan!!

Cause I'm S-u-p-e-r-mom!

Okay, I wasn't makin' bacon today. I'm back to teaching full time, though, figuratively bringing home the bacon. My minivan isn't spotless, either. But I did get get Amigo to his guitar lesson, which was no easy feat.

Amigo takes lessons from a music student at the local private university's conservatory of music. Usually it's a simple process: bring him to the conservatory, park the car, walk him inside to meet his teacher, and wait until he's done.

Not this time. Saturday was one of our fair city's downtown festivals. The downtown and the campus (next to downtown) were filled with food stands and art booths along with stages showcasing every kind of live music you can imagine - and probably some kinds you can't. Parking was impossible. Cars were parked almost as far from downtown as our house. Amigo tends to be walk-phobic, so walking to the lesson wasn't an option. I had to be eagle-eyed and creative - in a large family vehicle, the MomVan.

Of course, I managed. I slipped into the loading dock behind the concert hall, hung Amigo's handicapped parking permit on the mirror, and walked him in to meet the nice young man who teaches him. I zoomed back outside to avoid getting ticketed or towed. Lo and behold, I spotted an empty place in the parking lot just behind the building! Luck wasn't with me, though. By the time I'd pulled out of the loading area, the place was filled. I pulled into the lot anyway and parked next to a worn sort-of-yellow curb, hoped that the department that used the garage next to it wasn't working weekends, or at least this weekend. I backed in for quick getaway if needed. This area was at least more sheltered than the loading spot, with a line of trees separating it from the road. It was also campus parking, not city. It was unlikely that the campus parking staff would be patrolling that area. I crossed my fingers and toes for good luck and crossed the street back to the conservatory.

The same fall festival that gave me parking problems had an up side; there was a stage set up on the sidewalk outside the conservatory and concert hall. As I came up to the area, a jazz combo began playing. Entertainment! Great! I expected a quality performance - this is my alma mater, after all, a solid music school. They were playing good music, too. A couple of saxes, a trombone, and a full rhythm section playing Spyro Gyra type tunes from the early 80s - my era!

Amigo's lesson ended, and we headed home. Supermom got back to the laundry, sliced the fresh bread that had cooled just enough, and sat down for a computer break in front of Badger football on TV. Yes, it was a successful day, despite the challenges. No problem. Supermom can deal with those.

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