After seven hours away from home, feeding and pottying the pups, a speedy change of clothes, and a brief thirty-minute nap, I was on the 3:45 PM No. 17, heading to the Schuster Center. I was not scheduled until 5 PM but since I was responsible for getting our Volunteers signed in, beginning at 5:30-5:45 PM, I wanted to be sure my paperwork and their assignment slips were in order. I had ordered a hamburger and sweet potato fries from Uno’s Pizzeria across the street from Schuster Center.

We had two house managers who could not join us so after some scurrying around to make certain areas were covered, we were off and running. I took both sides of the upper balconies and had no qualms when I saw the wonderful crew of Volunteer ushers assigned me. They were superb and made the evening enjoyable. I did manage to accumulate over 3,000 additional steps during this shift.

The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra presented “Huddle Up: Music of Sports” which was outstanding and so much fun! The Oakwood High School marching band presented a stadium concert on the stage in the Winter Garden (main lobby) prior to the show and offered “The National Anthem” at the start of the concert. After putting away their instruments, they came up to the balcony lobby before entering to watch the remainder of the concert. The music students were so polite, and when it was time to enter between numbers, they were quick and quiet. Outstanding.

The evening’s repertoire included: John William’s “Olympic Fanfare & Theme” (1984 Olympics), “Home Stretch,” “Mendelssohn’s “Symphony No. 4, Op. 90, 1,” “Look Sharp,” “P.D.Q. Bach/Peter Schickele’s Beethoven Symphony No. 5,” “The Skater’s Waltz,” “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” “Big Band Baseball Hits,” “Casey at the Bat,” and “Highlights from ROCKY.” Now, this was a terrifically fun concert!

However, the downside to the evening was receiving a notification that, for the second evening in a row, my Walmart grocery delivery was “delayed,” again. It is 6:40 AM and there is still no delivery on my porch, despite the fact they promised to “keep you notified of its progress.” The Moraine Walmart is the closest Walmart but I believe I need to use the Kingsridge Drive Walmart near the Dayton Mall.

A number of friends have offered to pick up my groceries and I appreciate their assistance; however, there is nothing critical that I need from this particular order, and it is now more a matter of service principle. I also need to search for a new option or simply ditch the inept facility of the Moraine Walmart.

It is also a matter of being as physically independent as I can. I believe there will soon be a day where I will require assistance, but until then, I really need to keep moving forward with life, adjusting as I go.

I woke at 2:30 AM, after finally making it to bed at midnight, and sleep did not return. I teach my private lessons until 11:15 PM, so with being away for seven hours and rushing home to take care of the dogs and begin teaching at 3 PM, it will be a long day and one that requires pacing, a positive attitude, and dangling the carrot before me with an attached note, “Make it a great day!”

PHOTOS: Oakwood HS Marching Band’s pre show concert in The Schuster Center’s Winter Garden and a view from the upper balcony.