Trusting yourself..........

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a gig for 16 of my club kids who are musicians. I have some amazing, talented kids who were booked to perform at a local venue. Now in Boys & Girls Club, some dedicated professionals take the time to support the members in their life events such as sporting events, theater, extra cirricular activities and performances......I think that when they wrote that guideline, they probably were thinking choir performances and not a rap show but it's the same either way, right???

So my best friend and latest favorite sister who wants to be nameless (HAhAHHA) and her friend from out of town went with me to this venue because they love me.

It was an odd set up.............16-20 year olds on one side (supposedly) and 21 and up on the other side, seperated by caution tape and a dance floor.

I would estimate that over 80 of my teens were there and they were SO excited I was there to see them.

This is not my scene........I don't drink. I don't usually leave my house at 10pm. I don't go to places that have teens and adults and alcohol in the same place........the whole thing was so ODD!

We went to the "adult side" because there were less people and tables and chairs...........at this time I should point out that some of the kids parents and grandparents were there also but in a surprising twist, some random adults, early 30's, were there drinking.......that was odd because there were so many kids there.

So there we were, drinking our arrowhead bottled water, waiting for the teens to get on stage. Next thing I hear is screaming behind me and a bottle of beer thrown! Well we were up and outta that section in a split second. Goodness people! These were adult women, pulling hair and fighting! Ridiculous!

We went back to the "under 21 side" and I was talking to parents and my first group of kids went on MMP---Mad Men Productions. They were amazing and made me so proud. The crowd went wild and I can truly see them having a future in music. As they exited the stage, I was the proud "Mama Mindy" as I love to be referred to and they were all hugs and soooo many thank you's for being there.

Expecting my next group to go on, another group did instead. Well by this point it was hot and the atmosphere had changed to have some tension in it---I think that because the three of us that were together work with kids/teens and we can anticipate a fight or altercation that is coming. Sure enough, across the way, two grown men began to argue and security stepped in and was seperating them and then that was enough drama for me for the night so I said goodbye to the parents of "Jack" and we walked out..............to a cold rain....

As we were walking to the car, one of the guys in the previous arguement was coming back as if to enter the building----but this time, we noticed he had a police badge around his neck and handcuffs. Yes, he was undercover!

Within 2 minutes of us leaving, "All hell broke loose"........not because of the undercover PD but because a fight broke out and that fight turned into a riot........chairs flying, pool sticks being used as weapons, etc. When I spoke to one of my teens mom, she said it was horrible and she was on the phone with 911 in the restroom due to the noise.

So then the next two hours were a flood of text messages of teens checking in, letting me know they were home and okay and the messages that touched my heart were the ones asking if I was okay and if I had gotten home okay............

I'm sure this venue won't be repoen again........my other kids Zone Ent. never performed due to the chaos but with all of the issues, they'll need to find another space.

So the moral of this story is that my mom has always taught us Elias girls to trust their spirit, listen to that voice that sometimes whispers and sometimes yells but listen. And that's what I did..........Becca thought she was going to have to drag me out of there because my kids had not performed yet but the atmosphere had changed and it was time to go.

Thank God I listened to my spirit.

And thank God that every single one of my kids..............every one........was okay and home safe last night.

~me