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

countercultural

This weekend I went on a High School retreat up in the mountains.

No, I am not a High Schooler. :)

But I did hang out with High Schoolers all weekend. And that means I didn't get enough sleep. But now it's a week later and I've mostly recovered.

But the most striking thing about this weekend was something our speaker said. He said that we have to "live weak". He was talking about 1 Corinthians, where Paul talks about his "thorn in the flesh" and when he is weak, then he is strong.

Runks (our speaker) was talking about how we always try to live in our own strength, but really we need to be counter-cultural. We need to live weak.

Huh.

I never really thought about how often it means to live as a Jesus Follower means to be counter-cultural. And it struck me that unless you aim to be counter-cultural, you really are not any different than everyone else around you.

Counter-cultural.

Fitting in, being like everyone else, going with the flow - these are all things that go AGAINST us being counter-cultural. We need to go against the flow, not with it. We need to live weak. Because only then can God really work through us to accomplish much greater things than we can by ourselves.

Counter-cultural: my new favorite word.
K

tears

Today in class there were tears.

No, this is NOT the first time that has happened, but fortunately it doesn't happen all that often.

In 4th Grade, we started singing military songs. I have to teach them the songs for all the branches of the military, so I started on that today. One verse into the Marine's Hymn, one of my sweet little 4th grade girls started tearing up. By the end of the song she was full on crying.

So I asked her what was wrong, and if she was OK.

She said that her Grandpa gave this song to her mom, and he had passed away this year.

She was just sad.

...

Well, I totally was not sure what to say, at that point, because I understand missing a grandparent that has passed away. I've had 5 Grandparents that have passed away, I even wrote about 2 of them here. But I gathered my thoughts, put my arm around her, and gave her what I hope is good advice.

I simply told her that I understood why she is sad, and that is normal. I was there myself. But, we all need to take these times and use them to remember all the great times that we had with our grandparents. We need to look back and be grateful for those great times, and remember what was great about them and what was great about the time we spent together.

...


She breathed, and and nodded, and pulled herself together. So I gave her another hug, and sent her off to PE. And gave the PE teacher a heads-up that she might be a little emotional.

What a blessing that I get to walk with my kids through these kind of things, and that God gives me the calm thoughts to be able to speak what they need to them.

Oh, and later that day...she brought me a little present. A bookmark that she made in library.
I treasure it.
K

AWESOME!

I watched this video today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-gQLqv9f4o

This kid is cool! Kid President, I mean. But he says that "we were made to be awesome".

I just want to say YES! We WERE made to be awesome. God thinks we are awesome! If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. So I just want to say a big YES to being awesome.

You were made to be awesome.

And don't you forget it.
K

below stairs

Well. Last post I delighted in the little things.

Today I am confessing.

Confessing that my inner anglophile has taken over, and I and fully engrossed in Downton Abbey.

I'm not sure really why this story is so interesting, except that it is just people. Yes, yes they are fictional people. But it seems like they are real. It seems like that's what it really would be like in that part of the world about a hundred years ago.

I think the most fascinating part of this series is below stairs. The way it opens the door on the world of servants and a different class of people than the Lord and Lady of the manor. Tonight I watched this past week's episode, and at one point Mary says that there are a lot of people counting on the family, and they have an obligation to them.

But that's the point. There are SO MANY people that work on this estate. Fascinating, but...necessary? I think not. But what I would do now is very much not the point. Having a view into a hundred years ago is the point. Is this a true perspective? Is this REALLY what it was like?

...

Do I really care? I think not. I accept the entertainment, and agree not to think too much about how I would change things. So I will continue to "do" their upper crust English accents, and pretend that I live above stairs. But want to see what happens below stairs.
K

delight

Today I am delighting in the little things.

Today we have a jean day at work. I know, it really is a little thing, but wearing jeans and tennis shoes really does make my heart a little happier.

Today I wrote a bunch of thank-you cards to my students. I received a TON of christmas presents, and I practiced gratitude for each and every one of them. Today I delivered the last of the thank-you cards. I'm grateful for the presents, but also grateful that the writing is over. :)

The PTO bought us  Keurig coffee system for school, so today I walked up to the workroom and made a delicious cup of coffee.

I have been doing Weight Watchers for the past couple months, and have had some difficulties in knowing where to eat out. Today was another small victory on that front: I had breakfast at Chick-Fil-A. Not only am I grateful for Chick-Fil-A, but that I figured out how to have breakfast there and not ruin my points for the rest of the day. I'm pretty proud of myself for that one.

Yesterday I had a laugh with a co-worker about something cute my nephew said at work. I'm grateful that I get to see him every day, and that my friends and co-workers get to enjoy him too.

Last night, my Mom called and asked if I wanted to meet up for dinner tonight. I'm grateful for a great relationship with my parents.

There really is SO much to be thankful for, both big and small.
Thankfully yours,
K