Saturday, October 26, 2013

Musical Musings

My man's hands. Love them.
Mike playing with Steve, Marty and Aaron.
Aaron at the drum.
Steve, an amazing guitar player.
My fabulous bass playing hubby. I was so glad to see him playing his fretless.
Marty - I'm itching to sing harmonies with him.
Aaron's wife and her knitting. I was so absorbed by watching her stitches last night. Another skill I'd like to learn.
Music has always been a part of my life. As far as I know, no one in my family had any musical training. Yet we all love music. My fraternal grandparents' church (Plain Mennonite) had no instrumentation, only vocal music. Thus, the vocal music was richly harmonized. My mother always had the radio playing. Hymns mostly. She was not a fan of rock and roll. 

Church was also a HUGE part of my childhood. I have so many fond memories of Sunday School and Junior Missions. The thing I remember: the singing. I can still sing you most of those little songs. 

I can remember standing on the steps of my grandmother's farm and belting out the Sound of Music. It just seemed the thing to do in that vast expanse. Well at least to my 8 year old self. 

My parents were (and still are) very frugal. Paid lessons were not lightly given. I asked and asked for piano lessons. It was only when I moved on to asking to play the violin (I guess it was around 2nd grade when they introduce the orchestra at school) that I was allowed to take lessons. My mother says she just couldn't stand the thought of the screechy beginning violin.

I still have my piano. (It was probably 50 years old when my parents bought it. I'm not sure it has aged well.)

I was not a good piano student. Yet, I have fond memories of my piano teacher (and her dog, Petey). It is one of the skills I am so thankful to have, even if the skill is poor. It is up there with knowing how to sew and cook.

When I was about 12 I wanted a guitar. I guess by that time my parents knew my love for music. I received my first guitar that Christmas. I diligently worked on my calluses and learned the basic chords. I'm a bit ashamed to say that's about all I still know!

So what am I getting at with these reminiscences? 

It's been 31 years since I opened that guitar on Christmas morning. I used to play and sing and listen to music all the time. All of my friends played or sang. I married a musician. We used to host musical gatherings before the children were born. 

Last night I went to see Mike play with some other musicians. It is always glorious to see Mike in his element (behind a bass). The other musicians were very good. VERY GOOD. It made me realize that I don't know music the way I used to. I still sing with the choir at church, Mike and I sing together once a year on Good Friday and I sing with the kids at school and church. 

Yet I want there to be more. So I've been thinking about why there isn't more music. I think technology has actually kept me from pursuing music more. When I was in college there was no Facebook to scroll before classes, there was no email to check, no cell phone to carry, no iPod with podcasts to put me to sleep at night. I used to pick up my guitar or put on a CD at those times that now I grab my iPod.

It's ironic that I have more easy access to music than ever before and I listen to less of it than ever. 

So here's hoping I will change that. As I'm purging my possessions this weekend, I'm thinking maybe I also need to purge some of my unproductive habits so that I can get back to some things that I value, such as learning new music. 

Maybe it's time to host another musical get-together. Anyone up for it?

Friday, October 25, 2013

Purging on my Day Off

Goodbye papers!
I had the day off work today but the kids still had school. I love these extra little days. After getting everyone off to school I tackled a big job: cleaning the boys' room. I don't usually clean their room, I consider this their job. However, since they've both been working and Nolan has play and band practice, football games and competitions, I've been giving them a little slack. Needless to say their room (which is small for two large teen age boys) was DUSTY! I also wanted to change to the winter sheets and blankets. 

The one nice thing about living in about 1,000 square feet of house is that it forces us to be picky about what we keep and is easy to clean. So even cleaning the bedroom of two teenage boys took under an hour. It sure made me feel better once it was done.

That's the thing I know about me: I feel deep contentment when my house is clean and clutter free.

Not everyone is like me, I get it. Nor does my house look like a magazine. It certainly looks lived in and could use a paint job in several rooms. Our kitchen is small and thus always has food-in-progress and drying dishes (no dishwasher here) on the counter. 

Mike is in the process of moving his music students to a new location (out of our living room!) which has gotten me thinking about our living space again. We've lived with an upright bass in the dining room, amplifiers in the living room and students and parents coming and going throughout the evenings most nights. It has been a blessing to have Mike's business be so fruitful but an adjustment to our living schedule.

In November I'll be able to sit on my couch whenever I want to. 

This fact as well as my ongoing pursuit to minimize the "things" I own in addition to my aforementioned day off work led me to do a little purging.

I recently read a book about minimalist living. I can't now remember the name of the book but it was very interesting. The author talked about their shift from living in a home to a one bedroom apartment with their two young children and the amount of "stuff" they purged. I went online and saw photos of their home. I don't like to judge another person's choices but in my mind I kept thinking I could not live like her family. It was not the lack of possessions they owned that bothered me. It was the fact that there was not one photograph of the children or family in the home. The apartment looked like the timeshare we used one summer. Furnished but void of personality.

I do not wish to live that way.

And that's ok. We all have to find our way in this world. Some people love to collect things. Some enjoy looking through old photos in albums. Others get out their children's papers periodically. 

So today I decided to clean out the closet. We don't really have an attic that is usable in this house so our storage tends to be in the basement and the shelves in our bedroom closet. I have gone through the boxes on these shelves many times. Each time I get rid of a little more. Since I've been doing a lot of self reflection about what is important in our lives on my own and with Mike I've been wanting to go through the closet.

Today was the day.

I had three objectives: Purge my fabric to one box, decide if any of the boys homeschool portfolios needed to be saved and go through the artwork box.

The fabric box was easy. I made a trip to Lancaster Creative Reuse with a little less than half my stash. I then tackled some homeschool books I've been saving. I realized that while the books I saved were really good ones, they are not ones my boys will need in the future and they are too advanced for the preschoolers I work with. I decided to see if the elementary teachers at my school can use them. If not, I'll donate them to the library. 

I then tackled the art box. 

Fortunately the boys were coming home at the time I was going through the box. Mike was also around so we all had a grand old time looking at all of the artwork and crafts the boys made since preschool! I even found a pasta necklace. We saved the most important works and were able to get rid of the rest after having a good laugh at much of it!

After tackling the art (which was really the hardest) I went through the box of homeschool portfolios. There was little that was hard to get rid of. I again saved a few things that showed the boys personalities or growth and pitched the rest. I think the thing I had difficulty with was the realization that I was "throwing out" my hard work. Of course this isn't true. All of the hours I spent with the boys during our homeschool years have contributed to something much better than papers and music and artwork. I have my fantastic men to remind me of those days. I don't need the binders full of math and english work.

So my shelves are a little emptier and my heart is full of memories. I wonder what I'll tackle tomorrow?

Monday, October 14, 2013

Time and What To Do With It


Above you can see Chloe's favorite method of rehydration: drinking from a flower vase. I suppose she likes flavored water or something. We get no end of satisfaction out of her antics and super cuteness so I thought I'd share the photo with you. Just because.

Now back to my regularly scheduled programing. I have been thinking lately about time management. I don't especially like calling it time management because that makes it sound too formal and dull. Really I've been thinking about the time we are all given. Each of us has 24 hours every day. Nothing is going to change that. At different times in my life those 24 hours have been too long and at other times, too short. 

I'm in the '24 hours is too short' phase right now. 

Many of us are. I realize there are tons of blog posts and ezine and magazine articles about how to manage one's time so why bother writing about it? Well, I write not so much for anyone who may be reading but for myself. I'm always happy to hear that my musings are helpful or entertaining to others but the reality is that I blog to keep a little journal of my thoughts and actions. So today I want to do a little soul searching about my time and what to do with it. Bear with me.

We often quote the Bible, "To everything there is a season." I think it is so often quoted because it is true. The problem is that we forget the notion in our thirst to do everything. In some ways this age of technology is to blame. In an instant we see what everyone else is doing and we want to do the same. We forget that our lives are all different (thankfully) and that we each have different needs, skills, opportunities and commitments. 

For instance, I think it would be great fun to be an all-dressed-up-in-historical-time- period-garb-tour guide at one of our many local historical sites. I had to realize, however, that this is not the time for me to take on such a volunteer opportunity. I have too many commitments to my family and my job. I can see a time in perhaps 5 more years where this would be doable. 

I also have learned over time that I have a different threshold for busy-ness than many other people. I do not thrive being on overdrive. I thrive on slow and steady. I really am mostly an introvert and although I get energy from being out and about, I need time at home in the quiet. So I am learning to say no, even to good opportunities. I have to be picky about my service to others, to the activities my family attends and even to my job options. I feel fortunate that my whole family is wired somewhat similarly. We do not do well if we are over-involved. 

So I've been taking a look at what I have time for right now. I know that my time to be busy with my boys is fleeting. They are both in high school and both working. Neither drives. So we ferry them to activities and work. We help with marching band and the plays and musicals, we drive to youth group and host Homecoming dinners. Sometimes we do these things by foregoing something that one of us would like to do. We know the time is short and there will be time for ourselves in the near future. 

So what about me? I'm making decisions about my time. I love my job and am thankful to have it. I am also incredibly thankful to be starting a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program at St. Mary's. Both of these things take up quite a bit of my time and energy. So I am focusing on these things. Of course the house and garden need attention as well. Meals need planned and cooked, weeds need pulled, the garden needs put to bed for the winter, the bathroom needs cleaned. It is important to me to keep these things in order, so I vow to spend more time on them.

What I have also decided is that there are things that I enjoy but I am happy to put on the back burner for the time being. Sewing is one of them. Sewing used to fill a great deal of my time. To do it well, it really does take time. Of course I continue to sew for the plays and musicals Nolan is in but other than that I have decided to put the sewing aside for right now. I'm also saying 'no' to most other activities that come along that interrupt the flow of our family life. Saying 'no' doesn't come easy to me. I'm really a 'yes' girl. Shhh....don't tell too many people. 

So today, a day off from work and school for us all, I am off to cut my men's hair, clean up the house, work on my classroom and get outside in my garden. I hope you have a peaceful day yourself. 
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