You never know where opportunity is going to come from. Sometimes it’s in someone you meet or a path you didn’t expect to take. And sometimes it is in a park in front of a thousand people.

Fortunately, it wasn’t me that had to get up in front of a crowd. It was Maddy. Since I was a kid, I’ve been going to Pops in the Park with the Florida Orchestra. In the 80s, it was often at Plant Park outside the University of Tampa. I remember setting out the picnic blanket and running with my siblings to play in a little stream that ran alongside the concert area. I don’t remember all of the music they played, but I do remember that the orchestra always closed the concert with Stars and Stripes by John Philip Sousa. It’s such a fun song. Patriotic, reminiscent of a fife and drum core. It makes you want to get up and march along.

A few weeks ago, we were at Pops in the Park, which is now held at River Tower Park (another beautiful venue). We took a spread of wine and cheese, put up our chairs and blanket, and settled in to enjoy the concert under the stars. The big bonus of this night? Maddy was selected to conduct the orchestra for the finale Stars and Stripes. Once she knew she was going to do it, and she saw the crowd in the park growing in size, she started to get a little nervous. I tried to give her some pointers from my drum major days in the Big Red Band at Hillsborough High School, but it wasn’t words from Mom or instructions from Dad that helped. It was a touch on the hand from her sister that gave her the courage to go on.

And she did a great job. She kept the time and did her best to keep the piccolos on track. Now along with Broadway star and karaoke champ, she can add Maddy the Maestro to her resume. It was a great opportunity, and she made the most of it. She got rounds of applause from her orchestra-mates the next day at youth orchestra rehearsals! And we get to be proud parents of a girl filled with moxy!

There aren’t stars, but there are lots of stripes in elf costumes! And we hope that you will don yours for Elf Yoga this Saturday at 9:30 am. We can’t wait to be a little silly, be a little elf-y, and work on our wellness with you. The holidays are an easy time to forget to pay attention to yourself, but with yoga and plants, you can make sure you are taking care of YOU first!