SPRING BREAK!


Oh man, there is nothing quite as invigorating as finishing that last midterm and realizing you’re done! Tom and I were planning on going to New York this weekend to visit Adi, but Tom has come down with quite a cold and lost his voice and feels pretty sick, so I think we are going to have to cancel. The weather is supposed to be nice this weekend too. Today it got up to 62 degrees! I’m determined to go running tomorrow. I’ve let myself get too out of shape. I’m so looking forward to this break. Tom and I have really been working ourselves hard and we both really need a little time to re-energize.

This week sort of went by in a blur. Despite the fact that I didn’t have opera rehearsals I still managed to fill every night with one activity or another. I guess Monday we got home early and made dinner and had FHE so that was nice. However, Tuesday I had the “interview” for that job. Wednesday I had an enrichment committee meeting and tonight I had enrichment. I’m just fortunate that I love everything I do.

The “interview” went fine. I think I approached it in a lot more serious manner than the boss, Wendy did. She was really chill and I worry my “professionalism” rubbed her wrong. It was an awkward situation because a guy that had worked for them that had supposedly taken a job in Boston had just found out that job had fallen through so he was back hoping for the position they were going to use me for. So Wendy was suddenly stuck in a tight spot. It actually is better for me, because there is  no way I could take over all of the responsibility of the music director this semester, that would be around 4 hours of rehearsal every night. However I would love to help a couple of times a week for a couple of hours. The program is huge. There are 110 kids in the show, all under 15. I have to admit I was a little intimidated when I walked into the gymnasium and saw the huge collection of kids. We talked about it afterwords and I admitted that I was comfortable working with that many kids. I told her the yelling and shouting required wouldn’t be good for my vocal health, but I said I would be really love to work with the smaller groups- teaching the kids their solos and small group numbers. We’ll see what happens. The one thing was that I really downplayed my skills on the piano because I didn’t want to give the impression that I was some great pianist. Having spent the past 5 years in conservatory settings, I learned very quickly that I am not a “pianist” but I forget that in the real world setting I am a pianist. To Wendy, who can only pluck notes, I am great. But I didn’t think this through so I was telling her that I was fine but not great. This of course made her nervous because they mainly want me to teach music- and therefore to play the piano. However, when we got to rehearsal I quickly realized that my piano skills were certainly sufficient, as I played as well if not better than the guy who lead the rehearsal. Things to remember for next time. I hope things work out if not for this semester than this summer. I just think back to my early theater days and how influention directors like Ms. Hymns and Ms. Frederick were on me, and I realize the need for girls in these early developing stages to supportive leaders.

It was sunny all week this week. I know this probably gets old hearing my joys and sorrows depending on the amount of sunshine Cleveland got each week. I am just always so amazed at what a difference it makes on my mood and energy level. When it’s sunny I’m more inclined to clean up the dishes after dinner. I’m more inclined to cut up carrot sticks and celery sticks for lunches rather than just snap the big carrots in two and stuff them in a bag. I find myself doing squats while I brush my teeth, rather than starring listlessly into the mirror, and more than anything I find myself smiling more. I’ve got to overcome this dependency somehow. Regardless, I am so grateful for the sunshine this week- it made it a wonderful one!

My plants are thriving, they’re all shooting out their second set of leaves.

You probably collected from the above meeting but Tom and I did get called to the activities committee for our church. We’re excited about it. It’s always good to be involved. We were delighted that the president is very efficient with meeting time. She had obviously determined that the meeting would only be an hour and it was. It’s nice to know that you don’t have to allocate an entire evening for a meeting. Her agenda and forethought taught me a lot about how important it is to do planning before the meeting.

The president’s house, Amanda Yonker, was absolutely gorgeous. She had all sorts of great art work, and I loved her decor. It got me thinking about my own bare neglected house and I spent some down time (celebratory time) browsing decor sites and furniture websites, just thinking/ dreaming about what I might do in our house one day.

I’ve realized that furniture really intimidates me. It’s so expensive, and so huge, that it can really make or break a room. I’ll never forget how cute it was when Stan and Pam were here for Thanksgiving. At first Pam gave us wise advice about how we shouldn’t get to wrapped up in the house, that our priorities were elsewhere and that we shouldn’t spend too much time or money on it. (Which is completely true.) But by the end of her stay she had got sucked into the excitement and energy of creating a home, and on one evening when we were all sitting in the living room she said, “You know what you need in here, is some nice leather couches!” I had to smile at her transition as she too caught the vision of how absolutely gorgeous our home could be if we just wanted to spend the time and money. The catch is, we don’t want to spend the money- nor could we if we wanted to, and we don’t have the time. So, alas, we, like Pam, often sit on our cat urine smelling free couch and imagine what it would be like- and then just stop there enjoying the image.

I had another thought last Sunday. After Bro. Chipman called us in for the second sunday in a row to extend a new calling I had the realization of the joys and necessities of every stage of life. Tom and I are one of the few couples in the ward without children. We are also the newlest married. However, as we have been called to a splattering of callings it has helped me realize that our not having children is actually an accet for this ward. (Now don’t get me wrong I am not try to suggest we are not planning on having children or that we are planning on waiting for endless years.) Rather, I just felt confirmed that the Lord uses us for his purposes in every stage of life. It’s easy to constantly be looking forward to the next stage, but why? Take advantage of the blessings and responsibilities of each stage in life, and then the transition will be natural- you will move forward prepared and excited for the responsibilities ahead and you will not have regrets about the things you left unfulfilled behind you.


3 responses to “SPRING BREAK!”

  1. Sounds like you will enjoy a nice spring break. I wish we could come help with the tile job. Your new church calling and job sound exciting. Thanks for your thoughtful updates.

  2. P.S.-A Vitamin D Lamp may just be the answer for your winter blues; it’s thought to be related to a circadian shift in the production of melatonin due to shorter darker winter days:)

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