In a Warped State of Mind

Earlier today I took the kids with me to Guitar Center to pick up a new stand that hopefully, my son won't be able to destroy.  While there my five year old daughter got upset with me for not buying her a new guitar that she fell in love with.  This has me thinking about her love of music and our trip to the Warped Tour almost two weeks ago in Scranton, PA. 

I am probably considered to old to be attending punk and metal music festivals but it was OK because between me and Caelyn, our average age was twenty two and a half.

While I didn't see everyone there, I do believe she was the youngest one attending.  I did see a handful of kids in the nine and ten year old range but no one came close to being as young and as small as Caelyn was.

I have to admit, I was a little nervous that maybe I had pushed my daughter a little too far this time.  She was excited to go. For weeks she had been demanding this band or that band be put on "the list" of bands she wanted to see as I played music for her. So I wasn't worried about her enjoying the music. That wasn't even an issue.

At the Skullcandy Stage for Pour Habit

I was worried because this event would be far larger, louder, hotter, more crowded, and rougher than anything she has been to before. And she is only five. Spending ten hours in the sun surrounded by sea of people can make anyone cranky, much less someone who hasn't even been to first grade.

As it turns out, my fears were totally without basis. Much like Punk Island a month or so ago, Caelyn was perfectly at ease with the noise and chaos. More than that, she thrived in it. The only conflict we had was when I wouldn't bring to the edge of a particularly rough mosh pit. She saw no reason for there to be anyone between us and it. I did and had to explain to her that I kept a couple of people between us and the pit because her getting kicked in the head would hurt.

Chaos for The Devil Wears Prada

There is no kiddie section at the Warped Tour. There are no bounce houses or areas geared toward small children. It's music, merchandise and food. Those are your options. And we hit all of those in abundance.

In no particular order we saw all or part of the sets of the following bands: Pour Habit, Set Your Goals, Woe, is Me, Go Radio, Moving Mountains, The Ready Set, The Expendables, MC Lars with Weerd Science, A Day to Remember, Paramore, Asking Alexandria and The Devil Wears Prada.

We also took home a lot of free and inexpensive Cd's, posters, stickers and some shirts. Caelyn was hitting every merchandise tent she could find and many them were giving her free stuff. She loves it when people give her things.

Caelyn's top three must see bands were Paramore, MC Lars and The Devil Wears Prada. Fortunately, there were no time conflicts so we got see all three of them. However, our experience with MC Lars was the best. Not only did Caelyn get to meet him on a couple of occasions during the day, he spent time talking with her and taking pictures. He even signed her hat writing on it that she was a rock star and drawing a picture. It now has become one of her prized possessions.

With MC Lars

Up Front for his show. She did get acknowledged from the Stage

We arrived that morning as the gates were opening at 11 am. As they day was ending around 9 pm, I still had one amped up kid.  She eventually fell asleep on the drive back to our friend's house where we were staying. Her mother and brother were awake when we arrived and as Caelyn started to recount the days events, she just got more excited.  Eventually, she went to bed but it took a long time.  When she finally did pass out, she slept the sleep of the exhausted and happy.  We both did.

Not a Fun Age

My son Caleb doesn't really get a lot of coverage in this blog.  Most of the post's are about my daughter.  It's not that there is bias, I love both my kids, but my son doesn't do a whole lot yet that makes for interesting reading.

Part of this is because his life revolves around Caelyn's schedule.  He has Gymboree and Music Together but most of his outings are dictated by his sister's activities.  He comes along for her Taekwondo and dance classes.  He goes with us on her play dates.  It is just the existence of a two year old in a five year old's world.

The other reason he doesn't get a lot of coverage is because his activities are pretty much the same every day.  He eats and sleeps.  He watches some t.v.  He screams and throws a lot of tantrums.  He starts fights with his sister by pulling her hair or taking the one toy she has decided to play with.  If he is not doing one of the things mentioned above, he generally is either tearing something apart or just throwing everything he can reach on the floor.

It's fortunate for Caleb that he is so cute or else he would be one of the most hated kids at the do jang and dance studio.  He is every bit the two year old boy with a vengeance.

Which brings me to something that scares me terribly.  I get a lot of parents with older children who watch his antics and say to me, "They are so much fun at that age."  This shocks me because they aren't, not really.  He is not much fun most of the time.  Just ask his mother who almost had a large clump of hair pulled out by the roots yesterday.  It's not much fun at all.  I can't wait for him to grow out of it.

Sure, there are times that are cute and clever and I enjoy them immensely but for every cute thing he does, there are probably 20 tantrums or bouts of destructive behaviour.

So I wonder about these parents.  Did they somehow have perfect two year olds?  Maybe they are the type that look back at that time and just forget the screaming fits and tantrums.  Or are things so bad now that their kids are older that handling a two year old seems easy by comparison.

I guess I'll find out in about a  little over 10 years when he becomes a teenager.