work

Holy. Cow.

If I KNEW how much work it was going to be to get my house ready to sell, well I probably would never have agreed to this madness!!! And, to be clear, the house is not *ready* yet, but it is getting close.

Full storage unit: check.
Absence of pots and pans: check.
Total lack of bookcases and books: check.
Carpets cleaned: check.
Most repairs finished: check.

As I sit here and bask in the clean, organized, almost empty house, I am ready for this to be over. I am ready to go to my bookshelf and read any book I want at any time. I am ready to have a coffee table again. I am ready to have my blender back.

But I'm sure it will be worth it in the end. I just have to keep telling myself that.
K

new friend

This is me and my friend, Miriam. We sing together. Miriam is a new friend - we've only  been singing together for about 5 years. Usually I sit next to her, but sometimes the seating chart foils us.

Anyway, I really enjoy Miriam. We get along great, we are both singers, and we have fun together. Tonight we sang the concert that we've been working on: Handel, Mozart, Bach, Ives and Vaughn Williams. It was beautiful. And I have to be honest: I wasn't so sure our interpretation of the music would actually BE beautiful until sometime during last night's rehearsal. But it all came together, and it was gorgeous. Kudos to Dan Brink for playing wonderfully, and to the Springs Camerata for playing the string parts. Gorgeous!

But now this concert is over, and we will go to work on the next one. But fortunately this is not the end - we get to sing together again. I just wanted to say how much I enjoy her and how grateful I am for her friendship.

And I think she's cute.  :)
K

old friend

I am getting ready for concert.

This Saturday we will sing. And sing, and sing, and sing...

I'm looking forward to it, even though it takes a lot of work to be ready. Last night we sang through the Vespers Solemnes by Mozart. Even though it is a somewhat hard piece, I LOVE to sing it. It is like visiting with an old friend. I sang parts of it a long time ago, and now we get to visit again. We are catching up. :)

The rest of the concert is tough, and nothing I've sung before (the Bach double Motet, a Vaughn-Williams, an Ives and a Handel) but singing this Mozart is a joy. A brief respite in the midst of a steep learning curve. A nap under a warm blanket in the middle of a crazy-busy day.

I am ready - bring on the concert!
K

joy

My little people (1st grade, 2nd grade & 3rd grade) are getting ready for a concert. We've been singing their music for about 2 months now, and we are getting pretty good at it, if I do say so myself. Yesterday, one class sang through all their music with no help - no background singers on the CD, no books to look at, no nothing. They did well, so I said they could sing one of their songs that they really like.

I put on the CD and they sang away at the top of their little lungs.

As I was moving around my class, putting a couple things away, getting ready for the next class, I looked over at the back row.

And there was the face of unadulterated joy.

4 little second graders singing away, smiling, enjoying the music and bouncing along to the beat. And I thought: "That's what joy looks like".

I just couldn't help but smile.
K

reward

Today I got a reward: a hug from an 8th grader.

Since I teach elementary music, I only get to see the musical accomplishments of my little kids. And I DO love my job. But most often I get 1st grade hugs, 3rd grade jokes, 6th grade attitude, and everything else in between.

But today I got a reward. Several Jr. High kids came back to do a presentation for my 6th graders about band and choir in Jr. High: what it will be like, what they have to know or not know, is it possible to do band and a sport, if you have to already know how to play an instrument before starting, etc. Lots of questions, and some performances as a preview.

As they walked into the gym, several of the guys that had gone to my campus and that I had for all 6 years of elementary school, well, they lit up. The exclaimed my name, they smiled, and I got up and gave them a hug.

It was SO rewarding to see them sing, to see them enjoy singing, and to see them grown much more than when I had them. It was good to see them, but it was even more good to see how they've grown.

A much better reward then I ever expected.
K

the boss

My principal brushed the snow off my car today!

We were walking out to the parking lot, and just chatting about different school stuff. About 3 inches of snow had fallen while we were in school, so we were talking about how slick it is, and "you be careful".

I got in my car, and turned it on. I just sat there for a moment, putting my gloves on and thinking about getting my snow brush out and cleaning off my car.

Then, the snow starts coming off the windshield, and I see my principal brushing off my car. He cleaned off the windshield, the side windows, lifted up the wipers and brushed under those as well.

I just sat there, and said "thank you" about 3 times.

Wow!

Not only is he a great boss, but a great person as well.
This just confirms how blessed everyone at my school is to work for such a wonderful man. I've always known and said this, mind you, but just want to reiterate it today.

Thank you Don!
K