Marching Season

        It’s so cold. I thought sitting in the stands watching the game was cold. Under several layers of clothes and a warm blanket. I’ll never take that for granted again. When you’re out on the field in nothing but a marching uniform, holding a metal instrument with bare fingers, the world is an icicle.                  Just keep playing, I’m thinking. Don’t look at the world around you. Move in formation to where you need to be. Spot to spot to spot. Foot after foot after foot. Remember the marching. Your music is right in front of you. It’s okay. Just keep playing.                  There is still frozen snow in some parts of the field, and the winds are crisp from Wednesday’s snowstorm. Ignore it, march around it, not through it. Don’t let your feet freeze. Keep going.         The air is brittle on my cheeks. I can just see them, bright pink, and my nose a brilliant red. I can just see my mother’s reaction if she were here. “My goodness! We need to get you home and changed into warm clothes, right now, and then you’re going to lay on the heating pad! Are they letting you freeze out there?!”         Maybe they are letting us freeze, but there’s something we all know that she doesn’t; It’s worth it.         My fingers are getting more stiff now. They’re almost refusing to move because of the cold, but I send a harsh message from my brain telling them they have to keep going. They continue on, pressing a key here, making a trill there. My lips are nearly numb, but they stay in the proper place around my mouthpiece.         Don’t think about how much longer you have. It’ll be alright. Keep playing, just keep playing. If you can endure this, you can endure anything. Keep moving, marching, playing. Don’t stop.         We’re on the third song now. There are only four songs in the show this year. I’m forever grateful for less time in this terrible cold. We have almost an hour of a heated bus ride home after the game, but that seems so far away. I’ve just got to remember how warm it will be. Warmth is what I’m working for. Keep going if you want to be warm again.         Only one more song. You can do it. This is almost nothing. Don’t think, just play, move, keep going. Halfway through the song, now stay in your spot for the finish. Play your lungs out, girl! Come on, you can do it!          The crowd is cheering and going wild as we leave the field.