Saturday, September 26, 2009

O vs. E

I'm sure everyone has noticed that by changing just one letter you can change a word (and its context) immediately. Lover becomes Lever, Both becomes Beth, and Moss becomes Mess. But there's one O vs. E exchange that not only changes meaning, it changes attitude: Got vs. Get. As in "I've got to wash the dog" (making it a chore) vs. "I get to wash the dog" (making it a privilege). I had a "got" vs. "get" experience this week, and I'd like to share it with you.

Wednesday night Hannah came home from school and said, "Hey Mom! Guess what! The DeWitt marching band is coming to our game Friday and they're going to play with us! It's gonna be so cool!" She was excited. However, this Friday was the one where I'd volunteered to organize the after half-time meal that the band eats, so I asked her, "Are we feeding the DeWitt kids too?" "I dunno," she said. So I sent an e-mail to the band director and sure enough, we were going to feed the DeWitt kids, too.

Now, this is where "got" vs. "get" comes in. I could have gotten upset and grumbled, "Great. I've got to organize this, too." But I didn't, no way! This was an "I get to!" moment. I had the privilege of sending out a mass e-mail asking our Benton Band Boosters for extra food at the last minute, and I was overwhelmed by the response. By noon Thursday I had almost all of the food lined up, and by 4PM I had everything. Thanks to Amy Mihm, Carol Nulty, Amy Knaack, Mary Horst, Kathy Gage, Nancy Veldhuizen, Sue Harthoorn and Kristi Wibe, we doubled the amount of sandwiches and desserts we usually have, plus we had cut fresh fruit, and bottled drinks. The DeWitt kids were delighted. The comment I heard most was, "I want to come back here and march every weekend!" They obviously enjoyed themselves and thanked us over and over and over again. It was neat to see the kids, theirs and ours, happy. It was also neat to be involved in making it all happen. It was a pleasure to get to do this, to be a part of this organization. I'm fortunate to be a Benton Band Booster. I get to be included in helping out the band, and it's great. I love it! Honestly! I'm not just saying that because this blog will wind up on Facebook and I have Facebook friends who are Boosters and who therefore might read it. I'm not trying to be patronizing. This is the first time I've been part of a group where everyone who wants to help out gets to help out. It's wonderful, and I can't wait for the next "I get to!" moment. In the meantime though, there's one more thing I want to say....

THE BENTON MARCHING BOBCATS TOTALLY ROCK!!!!