Gushing over grousing

I'm having a REALLY crappy week at work, which I may choose to grouse about later. However, I have decided to gush instead of grouse.

On the way home from work this evening, I popped in Green Day's American Idiot CD. It really is some fine work, IMO. When I got to "Holiday" I got all warm and goose pimply.

A few weeks ago, we went to an event at our church put on by my son's youth group. It was a 'coffee house' (read: dinner with amateur performances). The theme was "Harry Potter". All the youth and their advisers dressed in costume. My son was Dobbie the house elf. He wore a large pillow case with shoe lace straps. Everyone loved calling for his aid, "Oh, Dobbie!!!" To which he eagerly came running prepared to be helpful. (Note to self: Maybe if we make him wear the costume around the house he will be pleasantly helpful? Not!)

Towards the end of the evening, my son and a friend of his got up on stage to perform. He plays guitar and she plays bass, and did the vocals to the songs they performed. The first song they did was "Baby, I'm an anarchist." It was an amusing song that they did a fine job with.

Next, they did Green Day's "Holiday". Not only did they do a bang up job with the song, but other members of the youth group shouted out at all the appropriate places in the song, quite boisterously. The camaraderie among the group was amazing. I was both proud and stunned. The experience made me see that my son has a very rich life and a great group of friends that he values very much (if I threaten not to let him go to a youth group event I can't get him to do almost ANYTHING I want him to do.)

So, every time I hear "Holiday" now, it reminds me that there is hope for my son. That he has talent and goodness in him. For the length of the song, at least, I can forget what a pain it is to live with a teenager.