Back in the day, when you loved someone, you made a mixtape. Music being the language of love in our marching band house, well, here I am, you amazing sideline spouses, starting your motivational mixtape this season. I just got the list of the stand tunes we'll be playing this year, and spoiler alert: We are going to rickroll the opposing team.
Let's start with you!
Rachel Platten belts it out in her Fight Song: "I might only have one match, But I can make an explosion." Ladies – continue to be the bomb! Don't forget to be your own person and live as your whole life requires. All too many times, we are relegated to becoming "the woman behind the man," but we are, in fact, a partner, standing side by side. You are an amazing force just as you are, and your decisions on how you want to run things don't have to align with what others might want you to be. Sometimes seasons win, and others just aren't our favorite. Some seasons mark milestones: the first season married, with a baby, or two babies! Through all of it, you do you. Sometimes you aren't going to give 100%. Sometimes you're going to go above and beyond – whatever you choose, it's okay. Be your authentic self. You are writing your story.
Since many of those husbands are, in fact, our own Greatest Showman, next up is this great tune from Kesha, This is Me. She belts out, "When the sharpest words wanna cut me down, I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown 'em out. I am brave. I am bruised. I am who I'm meant to be. This is Me!" Turn up the volume on this one, folks, it's an absolute gem. So many of us take in the less-than-kind commentary and have to let it slide off for fear we upset the delicate balance of this life. We can't speak up bluntly. We can barely give a hot side-eye moment. We just have to absorb. Throw this anthem on before a game, own your amazing superpowers of giving grace, and enjoy the ride. Kill them with kindness, sister. You'll come off all the better for it. Additionally, each season brings us those moments where we feel overwhelmed by the amount heaped on us- also give yourself grace and remember your needs. Because in these challenges, remember This. Is. You. And God gives us only what we can handle, and you can power through.
"Never gonna give you up. Never gonna let you down. Never gonna run around and desert you. Never gonna make you cry. Never gonna say goodbye. Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you"….Yes, yes, I warned you earlier. But the message here is: most of us are here for the long haul and live with good intent. But being there for your coach, for your family, for your team requires a ton of energy and time. Yes, during a busy season, in particular, we let folks down. We run around (doing everything under the sun!) And yes, we desert youuuuu. (You know you sang it, come on!) At the end of these days, we chose this life, whatever flavor we are choosing to lead. And we are doing the best we can – some days better than others! Each day, God gives us our daily bread, just what we can handle, and if that means cereal for dinner, missing that game, or taking a moment, that's perfectly fine.
Finally, when all else fails, throw on the great Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. This embodies the ENTIRE thing. Blast it out the windows and share it with the entire highway on the drive to the stadium. Remember to live in the present. Have fun. It is easy to fall victim to planning and schedules and what's next and problem-solving. Don't forget to stop and take in the moments. One day, we will walk off these humble grounds for the last time, being content with all the wins and losses and being grateful for the entire lot of it.
That's what makes this so beautiful. Go live it.
Lesley Ann Jones is a marching band wife from Katy, TX. If she’s not chasing after her son on the sidelines, she’s taking photos, plotting her next move or attempting to keep calm and march on.