Last week, I went to my local library.

My two young sons in tow, I gathered our books (one about how to make monster snot, the other about the Berenstain Bears) and was heading toward the check out counter when I noticed two aisles of music CDs.

Always eager to download albums into my iPod, I began searching through the titles. My nine year-old son held up a CD and said “Mom? Can we get this one?”

I glanced at the title. “The Complex by the Blue Man Group? Oh, I don’t think so! Not those clowns with the blue faces.” I had seen a glimpse of their performance on television, and I just didn’t get them.

Yet my son, who is at the age where every sentence sounds like a question, was persistent. “This girl? Who’s in my class? She says her parents went to Las Vegas and saw them. She’s also going to Orlando this summer? And she’s going to see them there, too. She says they’re really, really good”

Since the library had a 10-CD limit, I decided one bad CD out of ten wouldn’t be a big deal.

I was soooo wrong.

From the moment we played the first song, I was hooked.

If you aren’t familiar with Blue Man Group (or BMG, as they are called), the music has great electronic beats. I’m now a bona fide BMG fan, just like the rest of those crazy people I see hopping around at their concerts.

I listen to BMG in my car. On my iPod. In my head. (The last one was a little difficult this morning when I was trying to sing the Lord’s Prayer in church, but I found a way.)

The second song on the CD is called “Time To Start.” It’s a fast-paced song that gives four tips for “rock concert movements.”

The first rock concert movement is “Basic Head Bob.” My son and I blasted this song over and over, rapidly jerking our heads back and forth. We had a great time!

Until the next morning, when I woke up with a stiff neck. And sore shoulders. And limited peripheral vision.

I was reminded of a valuable lesson…and I don’t mean refraining from taking more than six painkillers with a 24-hour period.

As parents, my husband and I make every attempt to provide those AHA! moments for our children. We take them to sporting events, attend arts performances and encourage them to read a variety of books. By doing so, we hope they will do or see something that plants the seeds for future learning and personal interests.

While I think that WE must provide the lessons, I was reminded that children are OUR greatest teachers, as they can quickly move us out of our comfort zones.

Sore muscles aside, I’m grateful my son picked out that BMG CD. Who would’ve thought that three men with blue faces could bring us together to imitate rock concert movements like One-Arm Fist Pump (#2) and Jump Up and Down Motion (#3)?

What’s more, I now have a favorite new music group that I can listen to when I’m on the treadmill. (So I know I’ll listen to them at least twice a month.)

And the next time my son suggests a CD I haven’t heard before, I won’t be so fast to dismiss it. After all, we need to know what music our children are listening to and the messages they’re receiving. And, if we can like some of the same tunes, that’s pretty cool.

Sadly, I know the time will come when we’ll be on opposite sides of the spectrum in music selections.

But for now, I have a much bigger problem. I’m working on rock concert movement number #4…Behind The Head Leg Stretch.