My First Christmas Parade

This past Saturday, November 21, 2009, I experienced my first Christmas parade. I know those of you that know me are aware that I recently reached the advanced age of forty one. You might be wondering how a guy forty one years old could have possibly gone forty years without experiencing a Christmas parade. Hopefully you'll experience it with me and understand how this happened after I explain.
I had my usual weekend visitation with my three beautiful children, Justine Alexis, eleven years old, Jenna, age seven and Jordan who is eight. Friday evenings usually pass smoothly during these visits as we meet in the usual and customary place where their mother transfers them to me. We are usually very busy making our rounds through the grocery isles at Wal-Mart or Food Lion picking out goodies to last the children through the weekend. The grocery cart filled with goodies is usually interspersed with a few healthy items as well. And, Jordan never leaves us short of entertainment riding the cart as if it's an amusement park ride making various gestures and saying things that make us laugh that I'd rather not repeat. Thus, our Fridays are usually fairly ritualistic, fun and they serve to bring us together and set the tone for the visit.
Saturdays can often be difficult for a dad in my situation during visitations. It has taken several years to resonate in the minds of all the parties involved, i.e., my ex-wife, that after support payments, there just aren't a lot of activity resources when the kids visit. Yet, I understand, more especially this time of year, it's very important to build positive memories with these precious little jewels. Thus, I'm often caught masking and hiding feelings of inadequacy from my kids, and seeking out ways to focus our energy on doing fun things or positive things we can afford. During the summer months this is a little easier. During the fall and winter I try to keep the kids involved in playing music together. Alexis and Jordan play violin, Jenna plays the piano and I play the mandolin. We read, visit parks and visit extended family, too. However, I'm always looking for something to do that the kids find fun. We found this last Saturday.
The kids were having what I call a blasé Saturday, and I was still unsure what we were going to do, and it was getting late. The kids' mother made her usual call to check up on them around 4:30pm. They were excited to talk to her. She mentioned to the children that the grand illumination parade would start in Norfolk, VA at 7:00pm. The kids got excited and asked if we could go. In my usual less than exuberant manner I whined and whimpered and said, "Uh, I don't know!" But, the kids' mother said she'd meet the kids at the parade and drag them along. This way, I merely needed to be the chauffeur. I wouldn't be required to do the hard work to be the fun and outgoing person to entertain the kids at all. So, I thought, "Here's a bailout that even I can subscribe to."
The kids and I rushed, packed up the car and headed toward Norfolk, making our forty five minute drive from the Carolina side of life. All during the drive I was thinking to myself, "I'll hate the traffic, they can watch the parade, they'll have fun, but, it won't be fun for me." But, I was also happy that at least my kids would now have something to fill their weekend they could talk about on Monday.
The downtown Norfolk parade event traffic was not disappointing. In usual fashion, I was frustrated. A nice NPD officer pointed out a parking garage right beside the parade street. The parade had just gotten under way, we were in a hurry and it was only $5. So, we lucked up and got a good space. The kids tracked down their mother on the cell-phone. We hustled down to the parade street, they found their mother and pushed me right out to the edge of the street so close to the parade I could reach out and touch the participants.
Finally, it started to sink in. It was a typical Norfolk late fall evening. The temperature was about 52 degrees. It was humid and cool with that slight fog we get around here in the evening from the cooling air meeting the warmer bodies of water that have yet to cool down completely for the season. Thus, it was cool enough to get you in the mood of the Christmas season, yet it was pleasant.
The parade proceeded along Waterside Drive from east toward the west taking a turn onto Granby Street and heading north for about three quarters of a mile. The kids had positioned us right on the corner of Granby Street where the parade took its turn from Waterside Drive. I noticed the lights, the temperature, the kids' glowing smiles from the happiness and surprise of watching the parade with their mother, the ringing out of the band, the crowd of all the happy people, and Santa Clause. All of these things were building my excitement just as the ability of the bands to command control over the crowd built throughout the parade as the skill level of each band passing by increased.
The pinnacle was reached when finally the Norfolk State University band passed. I was so close to the band, I could smell the sweet perfume from the majorettes as they marched by us. The rhythm section vibrated the street where I was standing. I noticed that the members in the wind section were so good, they seemed relaxed and conversed among themselves, yet continued counting and came in on cue. The NSU band can take credit for ringing me into the Christmas spirit on cue.
The parade was reaching the end, and I was lost in the mood to the point that I had almost forgotten what the kids were doing. The last float passed by, and my kids rushed me, grabbed me, pushed me into the street and said, "Come on dad, it's a tradition to follow the parade!" Once again, my standoffish behavior kicked in. I thought, "I'm forty one years old, how is it that I've missed knowing about this tradition!" However, we were on our way, and I couldn't escape now. I looked behind us, and an intensely thick crowd of people had closed in along the parade street behind us. I have never participated in a parade in my life. So, I was about to experience something new.
My kids continued to drag me along, as I looked left and right and relaxed a little. I must have been smiling by this point. There were bleachers aligned along the sides of the street, all of which were filled with people waving, cheering and smiling. Also, the buildings had people on every deck and hanging out every window doing the same. There were at least 20,000 spectators. By this time, I felt like I was part of the parade.
I had been taken over by the pure spiritual power of the collective gathering of so many people merely to have fun peacefully. The diversity of those gathered both to watch and participate in the parade was impressive. I looked around me and noticed the young and beautiful, black and white, Asian and East Indian, old and wise and the glowing people everywhere. We approached the end of the parade, the participants started to disperse, the floats were being disassembled and I finally realized it. I had just experienced my very first Christmas parade!

copyright Kevin P. Felty