Back in the land of the living!

My homeschooler hasn't shown up yet, so I'm going to steal a few moments for blogging at long last! It's been a wild ride, so I'll hit on a few highlights:

The AMTA conference was amazingly fantastic! It felt so good to be a music therapist again, and I absorbed an incredible amount of information. I also ran into a lot of old friends, which totally surprised me. I sometimes get the idea that I'm rather alone in the world. I've gotten used to going to new places and seeing no friendly faces, starting from ground level in each new situation. What a thrill to see friends I once knew so well! Folks from Radford and Galveston saw me before I saw them and flagged me down to trade updates. I'll admit, I thought it was hilarious that I was the only one of the Radford bunch that didn't need to give their name even once! Was I that memorable? I hope that's a good thing... I did have to repeat continually that I am not married, no kids, lots of work and no social life. But very happy.

Thanksgiving was more mellow than I had hoped for. Four adults and a half-grown rottweiler mix in a one-bedroom apartment full of books could be a recipe for catastrophe. But we really enjoyed being together, my T-day Feast was a success, and I even made time to practice. Being an early riser has its benefits; I rose before my sister and went to the Institute to work. Saw BB King perform in person -- amazing!!!! On the down-side, I seem to be battling performance anxiety again. I had it pretty well beat, before last Spring... Let the healing continue!

In a similar vein, I'm changing my degree program. If I can't play special music with my dad in church without anxiety, there's no way I can complete a performance program without going insane. Since I never really cared about the degree itself, I'm not broken-hearted. I don't feel like I'm washing out -- I will still be working with my new teacher, and I'm making so much progress! I can finish a musicology or theory masters (or probably both!) in another year, only adding a couple classes to my original plan. It's dangerous to start giving me options -- I'm thinking the music ed. masters with the Orff specialty might be a lot of fun to do, or the sacred music program... Hmm, what shall I do next?

My piano students gave a great recital last night. Someday, when I'm a real teacher, my student recitals will last longer than forty-five minutes! For now, I'm just happy to keep it a very positive, fun, rewarding experience. I want my kids to love recitals, not dread them. Maybe that's why I always bake cookies...

I think that's the basic summary. UK is finished for the semester, Christmas is coming, and I have lost my voice. So now things are a little easier. I'm looking forward to going home on Christmas day, having a good Broadway night, and sleeping for about three days. Sometimes, being a student is so worth it!