Yesterday, Kat and I went off to Summerfest and had a wonderful time. Summerfest is a big, Milwaukee lakefront music festival. Because we went during the day some would say that we went to Summerfest Lite�not the top acts, not the drunken festival goers, not the real crowds�but it was Summerfest enough for us. I had encouraged her to invite a friend but she decided we would go just the two of us.

The weather was perfect. It may have been in the low 80s elsewhere but with a light breeze off the lake, it was in the 70s at Summerfest. We ate lunch by the water and watched sailboats go by as we listened to the music coming over that direction. We talked, really talked, about life, family, and friendship. The only indication that I was the mom and she the child was that I seemed to be bankrolling everything (and Summerfest is not cheap!) While I don�t believe that parents should worry about being friends to their children rather than parents, it�s nice to know that friendship moments happen.

Kat and I like slightly different music but that didn�t matter much. I listened to what she liked, she listened to what I liked. Kat, the child who cannot close out sensory input, likes to stay at the periphery where the music is not quite so loud which suits me just fine. We listened to a band playing cover songs from other groups that was reasonably good and when they periodically said, �And now for something completely different� they meant it. That band had no intention of being locked into one type of music. I suspect it makes them a perfect wedding band, if anyone looks for wedding bands rather than DJs anymore.

Kat enjoyed seeing a bar singer, without having to be at a bar and without having to drink (although some people were drinking. Milwaukee is still a beer town, particularly at festivals.) She liked watching the interaction with the crowd. I�m not sure she�s ever had an opportunity to watch a good bar singer work a crowd. This one, Pat McCurdy, believes in audience participation and is quick at making up little ditties. He also has amusing lyrics to original songs as well as a good voice.

All in all, it was a day to wander with Kat. The joy was that I had to take no parental action (other than paying) at all. She sighed when I had to stop at so many bathrooms and I sighed when I had to wait for her to chat with some friends she ran into but we were patient with each other and shared a lot of fun.

It was me and Kat, sun but not unbearable heat, music, and shared fun. It almost like being teen for a day.

LAST YEAR: Whistling in the Dark

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Copyright 2006 by Ellen