visitation

I just got back home.

This past weekend I took my 5-year-old nephew on a trip. I used to live in GA, and his Mimi and Grandpa still live there, so we went to visit. It was a good trip in all - he's been on a plane several times so the "trip" part was fairly easy. I just made sure that we had plenty of time for everything we had to do, and that meant there was never any "c'mon, we've got to go! we're gonna miss the plane!" I think that would have been a disaster.

Anyway, we made it out there and I thought that he was going to burst before we actually arrived. He was wiggly, and excited, and couldn't sit still on the plane at all. But in his defense, it was pretty exciting! I got to take off school for 2 days in order to go, so I was excited too (but for different reasons! It totally felt like playing hooky...)
After getting him settled at Mimi and Grandpa's, I drove an hour to where I used to live. I lived there for 10 years, and I've only lived here for 6, so I still felt a little like I was going "home".

I was totally mistaken.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was not at all what I got.
I think the problem was that I didn't think about what I was expecting, or what I wanted to get out of the whole deal.

I'm still the same person, right?
I'm still friends with all my friends, right?
Everything's still the same, right?

Nope.

On the whole, it was a nice visit. I got to see some good friends that I made at work. I went to my old church, and got to talk to my pastor. He's going through some things that my family went through in the past few years, so I was able to just let him know that there is an end in sight.
I got to visit with who I would consider my "best" friend from the whole time I lived there - we worked together for 7 years, and even went on a cross-country vacation together. Over iced coffee (it was HOT there! OK, not so hot, but wicked humid) we just sat and talked for a couple hours, while quietly sweating. Saw pictures of each other's family, and how the nephews are getting bigger. And we met for dinner the next evening over amazing Cuban food and sweet tea.

But there was nothing there. Not that I was expecting a relationship, but we've both moved on, and I suddenly realized that, standing in the parking lot of a restaurant in 5 points.

I've moved on.

I'm not sure I was ready to move on.

...

But this is life. And life goes on.

Ultimately that is a good thing, but when it slaps you across the face it has a tendency to wake a person up. I feel like my life there is over, and I wasn't quite ready for that.
So, here's to finding my new life here from now on.
No looking back.
No wistful glances over my shoulder.
No teary trips through the photo albums. (Yes, I have photo albums!)
Here's to keeping your eyes on the road ahead.
K

mother's day

No, don't panic. This weekend is not Mother's Day. But, it is coming up, and I'm excited. I love my mom and all, but this Mother's Day will be a little different.

Mom and Dad are building a house up in the mountains, and it's pretty cool. They have a nice view of some pretty peaks, and it is in a beautiful wooded area, but still close to civilization. I went up a couple weeks ago, and it's getting close to being done. The inside was painted, but there still needs to be bath fixtures, cabinets, floors, and lots of other things installed. But, their builder says the outside is done and it looks great.

Here's a view from one of the upstairs windows:




So, installing the wood floors is a pretty big job, but if we all gather up and do it ourselves it will save them tons of money, so that's what we are going to do. On Mother's Day weekend.

I know, it seems like a weird day to do wood floors, but that's the only weekend that would work for everyone. So our Mother's Day will be gathered around in an unfinished house, on un-installed floors, with a faint odor of floor sealant.

But we will be together.

That's the cool thing to me in all this - that we will be working in an unfinished house, in a not-really-ideal Mother's Day setting, but we will all be together. OK we are going out to lunch, so it won't be a picnic in the unfinished living room, but we will still be together.

That's why I up and moved across the country, so I could be near family. I'm so grateful that I get to be a part of my family again, and that I get to do things like a Mother's Day in an unfinished house.

Love you Mom.
K

the white stuff

I feel like I am usually a fairly upbeat, happy person. OK, yes, occasionally I have my moments, sometime I even have a day. But I think that overall, I'm pretty positive.

Now, I'm starting to think that the weather is affecting me. Today it is snowing to beat the band, crazy wet and slushy outside, and I feel totally ...blaeech. I can't think what it would be except the slush outside.

But I definitely think that your life is what you make it, so I think I will get up and do some cleaning, light some candles, and change things around some. I'm hoping that change breeds change and that will change my mood.

Besides, I need to apply some "a place for everything and everything in it's place" here in my house. I've just laid stuff down too much lately and it's driving me crazy. Maybe that little exercise will help too.

We'll see...
K

by the numbers

OK, here's a recap of last night's concert, by the numbers:

105: number of ugly black dresses on stage, all worn by the chorale, incidentally

64: number of orchestra members

6: number of locomotive bells that were rung from THE LOADING DOCK for the Coronation Scene. Not on the stage, not backstage, but from the loading dock. Those suckers are SO loud!

1: number of batons Don waved around

8: number of solos sung, all by Chorale members, and they knocked it out of the park!

2: number of parents that came. OK, just the parents related to me!
Thanks for coming, Mom and Dad!

un-numbered: the goosebumps I got during the last song, the closing song from Carmina Burana

900: people that stood for the first song, the Hallelujah chorus

between 10 and 20: number of mistakes I think I made. I know I made several. Fortunately, I am COOL and covered it up well.

I think that's a good recap - it was SO much fun. I really enjoyed MOST of the music, and felt really good about the performance. Wish you were there!
K

the home stretch

This week will be a trying one to say the least.

It's performance week.

No, I'm not on Dancing With the Stars. My choir has a performance this week, and that means that my whole week from now on is taken up with rehearsals and performances. Performance is on Saturday, so this gives me:
Wednesday - 3 hour rehearsal
Thursday - 3 hour rehearsal
Friday - 3 hour rehearsal
And last but not least, the big show on Saturday. 100 member chorale, 65 member orchestra, 2 hours of music, 6 soloists, one VERY ugly black dress (x100), and my special little book light that I clip onto my music folder so I can see my music while standing on the front-lit stage.

I know, I'm a music geek.

You'd think that after all this rigmarole all week that I'd be sick of this music, these people, and especially the VERY ugly black dress. But...

Actually, deep down, I like it. The 3 days of rehearsals is a little annoying, but all in all it is fun. I really do enjoy it! I think that the rewards of singing are so much meaningful for the performer than for the audience. I appreciate the audience, but I sing for me. The discipline, the being part of a group that is doing something so much bigger than just me, the camaraderie, and the amazing feeling I get when it's all over.

Totally worth it.

See you on Saturday!
K

requiem

In the traditional, historical and religious sense, the word "requiem" means a church service or mass for someone who has died. It is a time to reflect, and remember the person who has passed on and get some closure. It is also a musical piece, written for just such a service, and it incorporates the latin words of the Requiem Mass into song.

The literal translation of the word requiem is "rest". I know this because I sing. The Chorale is doing the Sanctus from Verdi's Requiem, and it is beautiful. I really enjoy singing this piece, and it is a little respite from some of the other pieces that I don't enjoy so much. Each week when we get to practice this beautiful piece of music, it is like a little oasis of calm and tranquility in a sea of otherwise agitated musical pieces.

Today is a snow day. I was thinking about this as I dragged myself out of bed at 7:30am this morning. What a wonderful opportunity for rest. For tranquility. For recharging. This phenomenon of the snow day is such an amazing thing. When I get that call in the morning, it always strikes me a a present. Now I know that the district leadership does not consider me, personally, when they decide to call off school for the day, but it still is a gift. The sleeping in, the lazy getting ready, the lazing around the house in PJs.

I'm so grateful.
K

the dance

This might be the funniest sight I've had while teaching - I so wish I had a picture, or video to show. I'm getting my little kids ready for their concert. Spring concert is going to be with 1st grade, 2nd grade, and 3rd grade, so we are working on songs, and some clapping, and other assorted concert things.

One of the songs that 2nd grade is singing is "You Raise Me Up". Josh Groban didn't write this song, but he sang it and really made it "famous", if you could call it that. He made it well-known. Maybe that's a better way to say it.

Anyway, I pulled up a you tube clip of Josh Groban singing this song, so my 2nd graders could watch him sing it, in his amazing voice. We all crowded around my computer and watched this performance.

About halfway through the 4 minute clip, I heard a very slight snicker. Not really laughter, per se, but just someone who saw something and made a very small snorting sound...

So I turned around.

There, in the back of the room, totally engrossed in what they were doing, were about five 2nd grade boys. The only description I can apply to what they were doing is "interpretive dance". They were whirling around, arms overhead, making very large swooshing gestures in time to the music. Then one of them leaped over toward another one and grabbed him in a hug. Then more arm waving and swooshing gestures in time to the music.

I just watched them for a half a minute, then snickered myself. It was pretty cute to see them dancing and making up these "ballet-type" moves to this song. Once they were discovered, it all went downhill from there because they totally hammed-it-up for the attention.

But that first sight of their interpretive dancing to "You Raise Me Up" was priceless.

Just a little insight into how much fun I get to have in my "job". :)
K

here comes the sun

I think there is something magical about watching the sun rise. I know, I know, it's not really magic, and yes I DO realize that it happens every day, but there is just something really cool about watching the sun come up over the hills.

This Sunday is Easter, and our High Schoolers are going to get up early and be there to watch the sunrise. I think this is so cool, and it always makes me reflect on how the sun is the same now as it was 2000 years ago when Jesus was crucified. More importantly, it's the same sun that comes up each day as the one that rose on the day HE rose from the dead.

I'm so grateful for the Son who rose, and the sun that reminds me of this every Easter.
K

a new model

My parents used to joke when I was little that they were going to send me back and get a new model, like you can do with a car. Well, I'm ready to do this with my lungs. So frustrated...

In December I got pneumonia. 2nd time in 2 years. Now I have bronchitis, and had to go to the Dr. today and get on meds again. Not even 3 months later, and I can't get my lungs to work right.

What is it going to take? Can I get a lung transplant?

OK, rant over. My friend Bill just got out of the hospital yesterday, and had a really tough go of it. He had surgery to take out a "carcinoid", then when they took out the epidural he threw up for several days and coudn't keep any food down.

He's home now, and doing better, so I guess I don't have that much to complain about. I choose to be thanful that my lungs are working at all, thankful that I don't have to be on oxygen all the time, thankful that there are cheap, easy-to-take meds that will fix my issues.

Glad you're home Bill.
K

snow

There is no more delicious feeling than the 4:30am phone call to tell you that school is cancelled. The resetting of the alarm, the lazy morning sitting around watching the news while you eat a leisurely breakfast, the extra cup of coffee that you can drink slowly and not gulp down while running out the door. Time is a gift, and today it's my birthday. I can't think of any better way to start Spring Break than with a gift of some extra time.

Thanks God.
K