Blahg

My current schedule allows me quite a bit of free time. It looks like this:

Monday:
9am WW
10am WW
11am WW
12pm Lullabies
2pm Piano
3pm Piano
4pm Piano
5pm Piano

Tuesday:
Day off! Yoga at noon.

Wednesday:
3:30pm Piano
4:30pm Piano

Thursday:
4pm Voice
5pm Voice
6:30pm Private lesson
7pm Private lesson

Friday:
9am WW
10am WW
11am WW
1pm WW
4pm Private lesson
4:30pm Private lesson

Saturday / Sunday:
Probably at least one bday party gig

Mondays and Fridays are jam-packed, but Tuesday Wednesday Thursday I have tons of time to myself. I think I would appreciate this more if it were not winter and leaving the house was a little less daunting. I always am better off when my time is scheduled rather than unscheduled, and many hours alone in my house leads to a whole lot of nothing. Like usually I'd rather take my free time in chunks than in days at a time. I'm not complaining... I just need to get better at motivating myself to DO things.

My general feeling of winter blahs was not helped by some tragic news this week. My aunt Lynn died on Sunday evening, rather suddenly. She has been sick and battling all kinds of physical challenges for most of her life, but her death came right out of the blue during a period when it seemed she was on the up and up. She was only 40. I'm thinking a lot about my uncle Karl and her son Eric and the challenge of grief this is going to leave them. It is heartbreaking. Going home for the funeral on Saturday.

Anybody have tips for escaping these winter doldrums? Or for self-motivation? I've got half of a song I could finish writing, a piano and a guitar to practice, some books to read, some classroom songs I could practice/learn.... Writing this blog post has left me feeling slightly accountable to you, dear readers, so maybe that will encourage me to get more done.

On the other hand there is just so much I could Google!

New dawn

This morning I woke up in a country with a black president.

Yesterday was my day off work, and Ben took the day off too. We sat on our couch in our little living room, coffee cups in one hand and champagne flutes in the other, watching the inauguration from entrances through to the parade. We cried. We yelled and laughed. It was a beautiful, unbelievable day.

I remember when Clinton was elected when I was in 5th grade, but I don't have any other memories of presidential politics that don't involve extreme disappointment. Disappointment in the American people, disappointment in the president, disappointment in the world, disappointment in humanity, disappointment in the future. Now it has all turned around. It is an incredible feeling to be lifted with hope, to dare to allow optimism to take charge. To feel excitement and pride about the American people, the president, the world, humanity, the future.

Watching Ben tear up at the magnitude of the historical moment and the barriers that were crumbling as Obama was sworn in reminded me of what caught my eye ten years ago. Ben stood out in our suburban high school as a fierce advocate for equality. He raged against capitalism and prejudice, and his political sensibilities made him unpopular with many and a fascinating source of inspiration to others like me. Since then I have learned the many aspects of Ben's personality and come to love everything about him, but watching his reaction yesterday reminded me of his commitment to doing what is best for our world. It made me love him even more, and what was most overwhelming was the proof on the stage in Washington that our country was making that commitment as well.

Happy New Year!

Our 10th New Years Eve together seemed as good a time as any.


We're in love!


So we're gonna get married!

Big party this fall! Happy new year!