These pictures kind of set the mood for the night. :) This gives you an idea of what it looked like inside the Fellowship Hall at our church. Martin (the Songster leader) and the Songsters threw a dinner for my mom's retirement as the official Songster pianist. She played for a whoppin' 50 years...and yes, she started when she was about 12 years old. And through it all, she's shown an amazing dedication and commitment to the Songsters and to the church. It was a truly beautiful, memorable dinner. She definitely deserved all the love and attention that was thrown at her, that's for sure. :)
Here's my mom and dad at our special, reserved table for the family. And my mom looks absolutely lovely in her dress. :)
Keith lookin' oh so hot with his darling baby daughter, Joslyn. hehehe ;)
Keith was one of the people that spoke about my mom during the night. He represented the family basically and spoke on behalf of all of us. :) Throughout the night, Martin, Bill (our last Songster leader), Dusty (our pastor/officer), and Pat (a Songster member that's been around almost as long as my mom) all spoke about my mom. It was really nice.
Martin presented a gift to my mom...which was a nice, glass plaque of sorts that was engraved to represent the occasion. Then he also gave her this big scrapbook that had a ton of letters from fellow Songsters, old leaders, old officers, and even a couple of Generals (aka the Presidents of the Salvation Army). I read through it once and it was a very touching thing.
At the end of the night, we all sang a Songster number called "Carry the Light." My mom played on the piano, Keith on the bass, and my cousin Kevin on the drums...just like old times. :)
Mom having a moment with Martin at the end of the evening.
For the record, there were a TON of pictures like the above...all of my mom's friends coming up to her and talking to her after the evening. She was certainly the star of the night! (And ate it all up! lol ;)) This is actually one of her teacher friends. My mom invited some of her closest teacher friends...and they all came out to the dinner, which I thought was very nice of them...and very touching that they wanted to be a part of this huge occasion for her. It was nice to see them again - it's been a few years since I'd seen some of them when I used to volunteer for my mom's classroom.
A picture of the music at the piano...as a "close" to the night.
Hanging out after the dinner...here, we're mainly talking to family. My cousin Chris came out, as well as my aunt Judy and uncle Bill. And of course, there's Keith, Missy and Joslyn as well. :)
Some cute ones of my mom holding Joslyn at the end of the night. :)
Hehe! She's a ham for the camera! *cough* Hi. I had to insert a Joslyn squee in here. C'mon. You know me. :-p ;)
My mom and I together at the end of the night. :)
My dad and her together as well. :)
Then the three of us. (Keith, Missy and Joslyn had already left by this time...so it was just the three of us for the "family" pic, so to speak.)
These pictures were taken the following Sunday for my mom's last "official" performance with the Songsters as the pianist. (She's still going to occasionally play for them, but just not as the official pianist anymore. Her and two other pianists will be rotating.) And as you can see, she asked Keith to play the bass with her and the Songsters one last time.
*smiles* My mom getting the recognition and the long, standing ovation that she deserves. :)
After that standing ovation, my mom couldn't help but break down and start crying. And she even had to give a little speech afterwards, which is what she was doing when this picture was taken. I will admit, the woman made me cry too. :)
And those are the pictures from my mom's Songster pianist retirement after 50 years. :) I really do love my mom and very much respect the work, dedication, commitment, loyalty, and most of all FUN that she put into the Songsters. I was blessed to be able to be a part of the "family era" of all of us together in the Songsters. Those are years I will never forget...and a big part of the reason why is because of my mom, at the piano...shaking her booty, being Susie Wonder, and generally making the experience such a rich one. Thank you for everything; I love you, Mom. :) 
