A year of small gratitudes
Last year at this time I was pretty grumpy. I’d just gritted my teeth through a winter in which I was never warm and had the cracked teeth and extensive dental work to show for it. That had followed a …
Just for me
Get in the parade
When I was in middle school, about A’s age, my band director shared a piece of advice that has stayed with me ever since. “Get in the parade. Don’t let life pass you by.” It really is a brilliant little …
The Life Organizer and self-care
I am no fan of February, not by a long shot. Crap tends to happen to me in that month, from the merely irritating to the sob-producing to the life-altering. March 1 is my favorite day of the year, simply …
Many cloaks in the closet
I love my new job. I’ve been working a few weeks now and I am very happy there. I like the people, I like the work, I like the atmosphere, I like the flexible part-time hours, I like the energy …
Monochrome season
No one talks about it, but there’s a fifth season. We all know spring, summer, fall, and winter. But there is a fifth, stealthy season that we all know exists but no one acknowledges. Today starts monochrome season. It’s the …
The Long Winter…field trip
Did you ever read the Little House series? Remember The Long Winter? That one was always my favorite of the bunch. It reads almost like a kiddie horror novel for mollycoddled suburban children. It starts off so innocently, with a hot …
Sometimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits
And sometimes I sits and curse whatever knocked my blog offline in the middle of NaBloPoMo. And then I sits and thinks some more and eventually just say “screw it,” because I was fighting burnout anyway and this was obviously …
My chameleon life
I am a flutist. I want to practice and improve. Watch YouTube videos of masterclasses and recitals, attend concerts every week. Focus on my pedagogy, so my students can benefit from what I learn and share. Write a method book …
Mindfulness through music
Want to live in the moment? Play an instrument. But not just play an instrument, play in a high-quality ensemble on that instrument. And then play wicked hard music in that high-quality ensemble on that instrument. You cannot help but …
Taking time
Sometimes you just need to some take time and hide, despite what is sitting in front of you demanding to be done. You need to do it because the alternative is hearing your blood pumping through your ears, or screaming …