"Trust that little voice in your head that says "Wouldn't it be interesting if..."  And then do it."  ~Duane Michals
It all started with Guitar Hero. Someone convinced me that having Guitar Hero, the video game, in my house for my kids, would be neat. They were right. The wireless guitar was out of it's box and plugged in for, let's say, three minutes, when I realized that I had unleashed something amazing in our household. The first song you train on is Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot". I loved Pat Benatar. My 9th grade picture will attest to the fact that I wanted to be her. When I sang her songs I could imagine the fans screaming for more. Pat was the reason I wanted my MTV.
There is a fantastic thing that happens when you have kids. You are given a chance to relive your childhood, no holds barred. As my kids lined up to take turns with the guitar, I watched as they delighted in playing to my favorite music. Thank goodness the guitar is wireless, because those kids are hams. They play, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, you name it, on one knee or leg in the air with reckless abandon. It brings me to tears everytime.
This last weekend we took our stardom journey one step further and bought Rock Band for the game system. Now we have another wireless guitar, drums and a microphone. We are the Patridge Family of the new Millenium. I am mostly a spectator.  When I'm asked to join in to help, normally on the microphone, that 9th grade me reappears. The first notes play for the song, the drums kick in with the beat and the guitar starts the melody. You can't help but get sucked into the moment. We play and sing with all our hearts and when the family jam session is over, we are exhausted. The sparkle in my family's eyes tells me that they will not soon forget this crazy time we are having.  All together, reliving our childhood and living their's. Making memories and replacing times spent apart with times spent as a family.
"When I grow up, I want to be a rockstar......." Dreams do come true!