Mar 9, 2026
Dear Gracie,
Turns out we're never done with "band season." This week Benson helped with his school's two top choirs. They needed percussionists and he (and the choir director's son, who is also in percussion) traveled with them to Allen for their UIL performances. I was asked to help drive him between the girls' and the boys' performances, since there was an overlap for lunch, but he couldn't ride in the director's car. I had a gap in my day that day, so I was able to go and hear him accompany the girls' choir (which had several of my young women in it), and then take him to lunch (at Kaitlyn's Chick-fil-A!), where he met up with the boys, and then I went home.
He also had his pre-UIL performance at Wylie East one day this week, and then on Saturday he and Tessa played at the Meyerson Symphony Center in downtown Dallas (which I'll write about soon), as well as Bagels with the Band this morning. (They played their UIL pieces for staff and administrators before school, and everyone got bagels.)
Tessa has been just as busy. She has to start her band class early every day (7:45), and they had a pre-UIL concert on Thursday and the Meyerson performance on Saturday. She was asked to play the bass drum on one of their pieces! She has to set down her clarinet and walk back with the percussion, and she gets to hit it as loud as she can. 
Then she comes back to play her clarinet again.
Then she comes back to play her clarinet again. Dad took a short trip to Mississippi this week for a meeting. He was scheduled to fly out early the next morning, but his flight was cancelled! Boo! So he decided to rent a car to drive home. He made the most of it and stopped to play disc golf half way through the trip. We were glad to have him back home. He has another trip starting tomorrow for a week and a half, so we want him here as much as we can get him.
It was Wylie ISD Day at the Meyerson on Saturday, where every top band and choir from the junior highs and high schools get to perform. Benson and Tessa had to be at their schools at 6 am to catch buses. Benson's band performed first, at 8:30 am. Tessa's band was hosting the event (directing bands and choirs where to go and setting up the stage for everyone). Dad was hosting an Elders Quorum activity, which was supposed to be disc golf, but due to the weather forecast, turned into a breakfast. That was a good call, because the rain started and came down HARD--just in time for me to drive to Dallas. I left in plenty of time--except that the time estimate kept getting longer and longer, and I wasn't willing to drive faster than I could see and the puddles were huge, so everyone was crowded into the inside lanes out of the puddles. I ended up pulling into the parking garage with three minutes to spare! 
There was a great spot open close to the doors, so I parked, got my ticket, ran up the stairs, sat down, made eye contact with Benson, and they began! And they were great! There was a percussion heavy piece, which is always exciting. After he was done, I did a shift helping at the ticket table until it was time for Tessa's band at 11 am. Unfortunately, I chose a really bad seat if I intended to see her at all during the performance. Even when she got up to do the bass drum, she was covered up (in my view) by the bassoons. (In this case, I wish it wasn't rude to get up to change seats after the performance begins.) But the music was beautiful, and brought some tears to my eyes. Then Tessa went back to hosting and Benson and I went to find some lunch. I didn't want to give up my parking spot, so we had a few choices to walk to, but it was still a little rainy and cold, so we went to a Tex Mex cafe attached to the Meyerson. I thought my tacos were delicious. Benson would have preferred a hamburger over his burrito. As we were eating, we saw the Burnett choirs arrive, so Benson left me to join them, as he was going to be doing the drum again with them. While they warmed up, I went to watch the Wylie High orchestra (which is HUGE! Time to split it and give some to Wylie East!) and some choirs, before the Burnett choirs came on at 1:40. Their performances were beautiful (again). I love the focus that our district gives to fine arts. The hard work pays off. We finally finished and got home about 3:00 pm.
There was a great spot open close to the doors, so I parked, got my ticket, ran up the stairs, sat down, made eye contact with Benson, and they began! And they were great! There was a percussion heavy piece, which is always exciting. After he was done, I did a shift helping at the ticket table until it was time for Tessa's band at 11 am. Unfortunately, I chose a really bad seat if I intended to see her at all during the performance. Even when she got up to do the bass drum, she was covered up (in my view) by the bassoons. (In this case, I wish it wasn't rude to get up to change seats after the performance begins.) But the music was beautiful, and brought some tears to my eyes. Then Tessa went back to hosting and Benson and I went to find some lunch. I didn't want to give up my parking spot, so we had a few choices to walk to, but it was still a little rainy and cold, so we went to a Tex Mex cafe attached to the Meyerson. I thought my tacos were delicious. Benson would have preferred a hamburger over his burrito. As we were eating, we saw the Burnett choirs arrive, so Benson left me to join them, as he was going to be doing the drum again with them. While they warmed up, I went to watch the Wylie High orchestra (which is HUGE! Time to split it and give some to Wylie East!) and some choirs, before the Burnett choirs came on at 1:40. Their performances were beautiful (again). I love the focus that our district gives to fine arts. The hard work pays off. We finally finished and got home about 3:00 pm. I took a quick nap and then Dad and I left for the Stake Conference adult session. We went to dinner with the Hickens and Meghan Nance at Coco Shrimp (and I got tacos again!--shrimp instead of brisket this time, though) before the meeting. Elder Vest from the Seventy was our representative, and he's a pretty engaging speaker. We left uplifted.
We went to Stake Conference on Sunday morning an hour early so that Tessa could practice with the youth choir. We thought we'd get a nice seat in the chapel, but they were almost already full! We found a row with a suit coat on it, but figured the four of us could fit too, but then the suit coat owner's family of six came, and we were very cozy. We would have moved, but by that time, the cultural hall was filled back to the stage. (I do wish they'd broadcast it to the Wylie building again so the whole stake wouldn't have to cram into the Stake Center, but it's true there were always problems with the sound or internet when they tried that.) Here's a couple of notes I wrote down: Pres. Shumard: Are we ready to see the miracles all around us? God doesn't always part the Red Sea--in fact, He only did that once. But miracles are there if we are aware. Act in faith and you will see them daily. Hold nothing back and claim the blessings that are yours. Pres. Vest: If you are feeling cold, get closer to the fire of Christ. Faith is an action word. Be intentional/not causal about your relationship to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ will help you. Mission Pres.: What is the Lord trying to show you right now? How is He in pursuit of you? So many good questions to ponder!
Tessa and Benson got bored enough in the afternoon to bake a cake. They got creative (added raspberry jam and sprinkles and decorations), and it was delicious.
We love you, Sister Roper! We pray for you several times a day. We hope you can feel them! Keep sharing that beautiful light of Christ and expect miracles!
Love,
Mom
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