Widespread Weekends

Rock n roll, live music, and particularly Widespread Panic are some of the best ways to describe a lot of my lifestyle. I’d fly or drive anywhere to see Widespread Panic play. It was pretty simple. We book flights, hotel rooms, buy enough beer and whiskey to serve an army, as well as many party favors. You name it and we had it. I did this a lot from my high school days until recently…when I got pregnant…the first time.

My favorite place to see Widespread was at Oak Mountain in Birmingham. It was always a blast. We’d party all day in the hotel, become best friends with our neighbors and get extremely rowdy all night long. I remember giving away free tickets to a guy we met in the hotel just to check out ALL of his pretty balloons. I remember taking pictures off the walls to do whatever we felt on them. From the moment we arrived, our hotel room was stocked with everything. Budweiser all day and Jim Beam all night. It was a straight up party. We never left unless it was the few hours to go to the show or if we ran out of booze. I had hundreds of trips like this and everytime was better than the next.

Having children you think a lot about what they will be like as they grow up. Will they be like you? Will they do this? Will they do that? I’m a lot like my parents so I wonder if mine will be the same. When I think about my children and if they’ll follow in my steps, I get knots in my stomach. How can they do what I did? I can’t even think about my son running in and out of hotel room ‘til the wee hours of the morning. The thought of it scares the living hell out of me, but I wouldn’t be who I am without a lot of these experiences. My life never fell apart. My friends all went to good colleges and continue to succeed. I also think about all the successful people I know my parents age. They all had their crazy days and many continue too be big partiers; at the same time, they have wonderful families and continue to give back to the community.

My husband and I saw two awesome shows right before I got pregnant again and it was so much fun. We went to the concert and continued out to a bar both times. The baby stayed with my parents and we had so much fun! Being married and having a child you must continue to do the things you enjoy. I’m a true believer of boring nerdy parents equals boring nerdy children. This isn’t true in all cases, just most.

While my days of running around hotel rooms, checking out balloons, and ripping pictures off walls are over. I can promise you that my Budweiser and whiskey is not!

Until Next Time,
Party Mom