thankfulness addendum

Wow. First let me say that our High School group at church is great. Yesterday I went with 10 of them and our Youth Pastor down to the Rescue Mission Thanksgiving Dinner for the Homeless. We went to do whatever needed to be done, and just to serve. This have become a tradition, and I think this was my 4th year taking High Schoolers to serve at this event. They are awesome. They just jump right in there, and so whatever needs to be done. They serve with a beautiful heart, and are willing to hand out meals, or clean up. Some of them painted kid's faces, then helped put away tables and chairs.

That said, wow. I am so thankful for my life. I so often forget what a great life I have. Yesterday I just got a nice remembrance that I am so blessed to have the life that I have.

A couple kids commented that there were a lot of people volunteering, and sometimes they had to look for things to do. My reply was, how often do the homeless have people falling all over themselves trying to serve them? How are they treated most often? I think it is personally my mission to make them feel wanted and special for a day. I just realized that I feel wanted and special most days, and that I have an amazing birthday, and Thanksgiving, and Christmas every year. I have family lunch every Sunday, and get tons of gifts at school each December. I am SO blessed.

So as I think about how blessed I am to be a part of my family, my church, my school, to have my house, my car, etc., I just want to say that it is always humbling to realize that there are people who have none of this.
May I never forget, and always do my best to serve them whenever I have an opportunity. It's what Jesus would have done...
K

my attitude of gratitude

On many occasions, I have given advice to people to be thankful. To be thankful in spite of circumstances, to be thankful for gifts you've been given, to be thankful for the good things in life, even if there are bad things too. I have always tried to be thankful no matter what. I believe that it is good mental health to look on the bright side, and to find the good in things.

My friend, Jen, is sometimes negative. I love her, and she's a good friend. But I've given her this "be thankful" advice several times before. I don't feel bad saying this, because if you asked her she would agree. But now, more than ever, I am giving myself this advice.

I think that even though life throws bad situations at us, and even though we might not be exactly where we want to be, it is important to deliberately look around and find things to be thankful for.

Here's my (partial) list:

I'm thankful for my family. I have a great Mom and Dad, a great sister and brother-in-law as well as two great nephews. I took Noah bowling yesterday, and he beat me. But we had a great time, and I love him.

I'm thankful for a great job. It's a lot sometimes, but I really do love my kids, and the hugs I get each week at school.

I'm thankful for a loving church family. I'm thankful for our new senior pastor.

I'm thankful for the kids in High School Group. They keep me young. :)

I'm thankful for a great boss.

I'm thankful for the Chorale and the opportunity to sing in a great group each week.

I'm thankful for good friends like Jen. I'm thankful for other good friends, like Beth.

I'm thankful that I get to spend Thanksgiving with family, 'cause for a lot of years I didn't.

Just wanted to take a moment to be thankful for some of the blessings I have in my life, and the good things that come along with the trials.
K

determination

I teach piano to a 70 year-old Vietnamese man. I know that sounds like the title of a book, but it's true. I go to his house every Saturday morning, and we do piano together. In fact, it's a little different than any other piano students. Most of my other students are between the ages of 7 and 12, with the exception of a couple teenagers. I really like them all, and enjoy our lessons. But, with them we are working through a piano method book. They play the songs in the books, and as we come upon a new concept, I explain how it works, then they practice that in the next song.

Mr. Le is different. When he and I do piano, I just go and wait for him to ask questions. He ALWAYS has a question, and he dutifully takes notes. In fact, often he has more questions than we have time for in our half-an-hour lesson. He always serves me tea, and it is a very quiet time. I've really come to enjoy the different approach, and it keeps me on my toes. I never know what is coming, and often I have to distill a college Music Theory concept down to something he can understand, and then put it into simple English.

I was just thinking this morning about how I admire his determination. He often says that he will continue to learn, and become a better pianist until he dies, whenever that will be. Last year we stopped lessons for several months, because he was ill and in the hospital. He had pneumonia and a collapsed lung. Even now he's on oxygen, and seems pretty frail, compared to when I first met him. Nevertheless, we still do piano. He still asks questions, and is very eager to learn. Last week he said when he feels better how would like to do an hour lesson so he can learn more.

Just wanted to point out that the thirst for knowledge can never be satisfied. Make sure you have something you want to learn about, and your spirit will continue to grow vibrant, even as you body winds down its time here.
K

my mom, and the coffee cup

The other day, I was headed out to school in the morning, and hadn't finished my coffee. I know, I know, coffee is not that great for you, and I really should just quit drinking it. BUT, I can't. I like it, and now that I'm addicted to it, I get a headache if I don't have a cup of coffee in the morning. So as a result, I take my extra coffee maker on all trips, and enjoy my cup of coffee in the morning. One of my fellow Youth Group sponsors is also addicted, and is grateful for my extra coffee maker. We sit quietly in the morning, and feed our addiction before the chaos of whatever Youth Group trip we're on starts up for the day.

Anyway, back to my morning coffee. I wasn't finished, so I grabbed my cup, purse, lunchbag, and anything else that was going with me and headed out the door.

As I got into my car, I had a little flashback to when I was young. Maybe 6 or 7, maybe a little older, but not any older than 10, 'cause that's when we moved to another house. Mom and I were getting into the car to go to school, and she had a ceramic mug with her coffee in it. I clearly remember telling her that she shouldn't take that cup of coffee in the car because she was gonna spill it all over her lap and then she would be sorry. (Kinda sounded like a little know-it-all, didn't I?) Well she didn't spill coffee that day, but one day in the not-too-distant future, she dropped a mug of coffee and broke the mug. (And, of course, lost the coffee).

So this was my little flashback last week, as I sat down in the car with my ceramic mug of coffee. I just realized that I am becoming more and more like my Mom every day. Sometimes in class I say things that sound *exactly* like her. Often it takes me by surprise, and I have to stop for a minute. But I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing. Because, you see, I have seen how Mom has grown up over the years, and she is not the same person that she was when I was little. (Probably due to the fact that I'm not in the house anymore - she's much more relaxed!) But really, as I think about how much I am like her, I hope that I too will continue to grow, and become a better person, like she has.

Thanks Mom, for all you've taught me. Both when I was little, and even now that I'm getting old.

I Love you .

K

time in a bottle, time to go, time...

Yesterday I woke up at 5:15. Sheesh...I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't so after about 15 or 20 minutes I just got up and took my shower. As I was doing my hair, I noticed that the clock in the bathroom said "7:00". After walking in to the bedroom to check that it was only 6am, I remember thinking that it was weird that I didn't change that clock to "fall back" an hour, but whatever.
So I changed it back.

Went downstairs, made breakfast, did a couple things around the house, made my lunch, then headed out the door. I had to stop at the bank before school, so I drove up to the drive-through. As I was sitting there, I glanced at the clock in my car, and thought I was having a twilight zone-moment: the clock said 8:20.

I reached for the clock to change THAT one back an hour too, then...

pulled out my cell phone and it said 8:21. OH NOOOOOO.......

I called school (where I was supposed to be almost 45 minutes ago) and when Penny confirmed that it was indeed 8:22, I really didn't know what to say.

Well all's well that ends well, and the rest of the day ended up being fine, but it is so discombobulating to be off by an hour, and not know it, then find out almost by accident, then be behind and have missed several things I should have done in that time.

I just realized that Not only do I have a clock in every room, I am totally dependant on them and am a very scheduled person. Not that I have a full schedule, but when that schedule gets thrown off it turns me upside down.

Is there a way to be less time-dependant, and still accomplish the things I have to do in life (like get to work on time)? Can somehow I not always need the time-keeping, and be able to go with the other rhythms of life, like the sun and the moon? Can I find a balance between the necessity of getting to work on time, and MAKING time to not be time-bound?

In my own time,
K

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

My friend Beth writes a blog, like a day off, and she was saying how she wanted to learn to live every day like it's a day off. Well, today IS a day off. I got a SNOW DAY!!!! OK, not just me, but several school districts here in Colorado Springs.

I LOVE that unexpected feeling of wonderfulness when you realize that the whole day is free, and you just gained 8 hours that you didn't have before.

I feel totally relaxed, and am definitely going to enjoy my snow day!

Hope you have an unexpected gift sometime soon.
K

ice hockey

Last night my Dad took me to a hockey game. It really was fun - we went to get some dinner, then saw Colorado College beat Michigan Tech 4-1. I have to admit that I'm not a huge hockey fan, but I like to watch any sport where it is exciting, and there's stuff to watch, so it was a good night all together.

Though, I had a moment and cried a little bit in the restaurant. There was an older couple a couple tables over, and I glanced at them out of the corner of my eye. She was fixing his dinner, and from the way he sat there I assumed that he had previously had a stroke. After she got his dinner ready, she carefully placed the fork in his hand so he could eat. As I was watching this, I started thinking about Grandmas and Grandpas, and it made me a little sad that 5 of them are gone, but would have done this same thing in the same situation. And then I thought that, god forbid, I may have to do this same thing for Mom or Dad one day in the FAR future. But as all these thoughts flashed through my mind in about a second, I had a tear. Then, I couldn't stop them, and had to dig a kleenex out of my purse in the middle of dinner in Pei Wei. Good Heavens. I truly am a mess.

Anyway, Dad and I had a really nice time. We talked about CC hockey, and about other things, and about how much we enjoy my nephews (his grand kids). It was fun.

On the way home I got to thinking about how weird the circle of life it. First, when we are little we spend tons of time with Mom and Dad. Then we get a little older, and more time is with friends, and less time is spent with Mom and Dad. Then we get to be a teenager, and we wouldn't be caught DEAD with Mom and Dad. Then we (I) live across the country for 14 years, and only get to see Mom and Dad once a year. And now, we live 6 miles apart, and week each other every week. Just kinda funny...

K

power!

I feel totally empowered!

This week I changed the bulb in my car's dome light, changed the wiper blades, got one of the guys at the auto parts store to put in a new headlight bulb, and today I refinished my headlights!!! Usually car-stuff makes me want to have someone else take care of whatever needs to be done, but that time had come, so I stepped up.

Just want to point out that the headlight refinishing involved using my drill, and 3 grades of sandpaper as well as a polishing attachment.

I'm so proud of myself!

Just wanted to share with someone...
K

tears, death, and some drunk people in a bar

So the opera is over.

I am a little glad, and a little sad at the same time. Let me review: I sang in the chorus for a local production of La Boheme, by Puccini. This particular production was a "semi-staged" version, and that means that there were no costumes, no props, and no scenery. Other than that, it was very much like the last time I sang in the chorus for La Boheme. Sang the same songs, though a different part this time, and got to portray drunk people in a bar, as well as impertinent little kids. It really was a ton of fun.

I do have to say that the last time I did La Boheme, I thought we were IT. I had in my mind that there was no way that this production would match up. Yeah, it could be good, but...wouldn't come close.

Well, I was totally wrong. The principals in this version totally knocked it out of the park. They were SO GOOD! I think a huge selling point for me was that the "semi-staged" version meant that the chorus sat on stage throughout the whole thing. Even though we only sang in Act 2 and part of Act 3, we sat up there for the whole shebang.

Boy, I hardly have words. Mimi, one of the 2 female leads dies at the end of the show, and this Mimi died sitting in a chair. Wearing a formal dress. Singing higher than I could ever sing, dying in a chair or not. One of my piano students came, and her mom told me that she was sobbing at the end of the show. Mimi was THAT good, and THAT moving, and THAT convincing.

Wow.

I had a tear at the end, and I've been in it before, and even seen the whole thing before.

Wow.

I am so impressed by Puccini's ability to take this timeless story of not just Rodolfo and Mimi's love, but their friends, their dealing with life's circumstances, as well as their entire relationship with each other and put it into this amazing and touching lyrical story.
If you've never seen La Boheme, I suggest you watch a good version. Soon.

So it may seem like I am out of Operaville, but this last weekend I tried out to sing in the chorus of Mozart's Magic Flute. We'll see if I make it...

Musically,
K

drums, a kora and some beats

This link is of an amazing musician from Mali, West Africa and his name is Issa Bagayoyo. I had the privilege of seeing him live this fall, and sometimes I think I could listen to his stuff all the time. Just wanted you to experience Issa too.

Don't be afraid to get up and dance...
K

Issa Bagayogo Live at Colorado College from PPLD TV on Vimeo.