2018 Haus von Gem Staycation - Day 2 + 3

Waking up all together in one place is always a highlight for our family trips. We don’t all always sleep well since the energy and excitement practically vibrate the house we are in, but it’s always completely worth it.

On Sunday morning the “Trips” were up and outside to get their first jumps of the day in.

Wherever our families are together, we try to find a UU church to attend so we can see the different styles and ideas. Having Kel, Paula, and the girls with us at church for two Sundays in a row was an extra special treat. We joked that with our small congregation, after two Sundays people would start asking them to join a committee.

After church we had some delightful fresh food and friends came over to visit.

By this time we had also added Buddie’s brother’s dog to the mix while his family went out of town for a few days. Our cats were locked in our bedroom to help maintain Kelly’s ability to breath, so Jax had the run of the house.

On Monday night we headed to DeSano Pizza for dinner. Buds and Thena and Imani joined us after they all got through work and school. After a delicious dinner we headed to a concert at the Schermerhorn Symphony Hall: Voices of Hope.

To share the beauty of the Schermerhorn with some of my favorite people was such a joy.

The music directors from the different participating schools got to conduct, which has to be such an amazing feeling. And I visited with several different parents who had children in the choirs, and they were so proud.

We had seats right in the front, which was almost a little too close for me when the dancers were on.

The overall conductor of this concert: Dr. Tamara Freeman, an internationally acknowledged Holocaust ethnomusicologist, was a powerhouse! She told us we were not to clap until after song toward the end, and that we would KNOW when it was time to clap.

I could not understand what she meant, and fretted about it a small amount the entire concert, but she was completely correct.

When the choir sang this song, you couldn’t help but clap.

The concert did a masterful job of sharing a small amount of the sorrow and horror of the Holocaust, but also reminded us of the beauty and power of music to lift people up, bring them together, and lighten their burdens.

It was a wonderful concert experience.