#SOL16 Day 23

Life is like a ten speed bicycle.  Most of us have gears we never use. ~ Charles M. Schulz

I played the piano yesterday. I played the piano yesterday in front of the whole school and a dozen parents who showed up for our Tenebrae service. So what’s the big deal you ask? I haven’t played the piano in four years!

Although I have a degree in Music Education, piano is not my primary instrument. I was/am a string player, string bass specifically. I played the piano all the time for my students but never for performances or church services unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. I am not that confident in my playing abilities and get VERY nervous. Since I moved into a teaching position four years ago where I only teach ELA, I haven’t touched the keyboard – not even at home.

Sadly, the music teacher at school lost her mother this past week, and she was out on bereavement leave. I filled in for her at the 5K event on Saturday and gave the choir their starting pitch and directed them in the singing of “The Star Spangled Banner” which was easy peasy, no pressure. I guess that’s where my principal got the idea that I could fill in at Tenebrae. He emailed me the night before, and I must admit, I panicked a little bit. I didn’t have a copy of the music at home, so I would have to wait until I got to school on Tuesday morning to find music and practice. I bit my lip and told him I would do it.

Long story short, I found the music (it was only eight measures long), practiced a couple times by myself and a couple times with the cantor; we we off to Tenebrae. We had to repeat the verse six or seven times in the course of the service. By the second or third time I realized that I was really enjoying myself and even missed playing a little bit…just a little bit. I heard a couple of clinkers, but my colleagues swear they heard not one wrong note.

I guess it is like riding a bike. All those years of practicing came back to me.The muscle memory in my fingers carried me through. Don’t hold your breath though; there are no upcoming concert dates for me.

#SOL16 Day 22

Think and Wonder, Wonder and Think. ~ Dr. Seuss

Wonder – to think or speculate curiously

My mind is always “on” and thinking or worrying about something.  So today I tried to capture some of these “wonderings” and share them with you.  I wonder how many didn’t catch in time to write in my notebook?  Oh well, there is always tomorrow.

I wonder what really goes on in the mind of a person suffering with dementia.
I wonder what the jabbering of babies and toddlers really means.
I wonder how many shades of green there are in the forest.
I wonder about the lives of people I see on the street.
I wonder what it would be like if I really didn’t have to work.
I wonder why it is so important for some people to be the center of attention.
I wonder why 7th grade boys are so silly.
I wonder what times that birds that serenade me each morning wake up.
I wonder what it would be like to be debt free.
I wonder what it would be like to hit the lottery
I wonder if homeless people are afraid.
I wonder how many of my middle school students will remain friends after high school.
I wonder how long I could do without my cell phone,email, and social media.
I wonder why some people are complainers and others ar problem solvers.
I wonder how many scarves one person really needs.
I wonder.

#SOL16 Day 20

Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation. ~ Lois Wyse

An impromptu invitation was just what I needed.  We met our son and daughter (their spouses both had to work) and our two grandchildren for breakfast.  We met at a central location at a diner I had never been to before. What a joy to see their tiny faces light up when we walked into the entryway of the diner.  One was shouting Pops and Nona, Pops and Nona,  while the other was hiding behind her dad’s leg peeking out and laughing.  There is no better way to start your day!

After breakfast we went to a playground just down the road from the diner.  Although it was the first day of Spring the kids needed hats and gloves and winter coats, but that certainly didn’t dampen their enthusiasm for the swings and slides. Pops even got into the act and slid down the slides with the kids.  We all had a good laugh and pictures to use as evidence in the future!

It certainly wasn’t what my husband and I had planned for today, but we never pass up the opportunity to spend time with our grandchildren.  They change and grow so quickly, that you want to capture every moment possible and treasure it.  We are so happy that our kids want to include us in so many adventures both big and small.  If there is the chance to make a memory – everything else can wait!

#SOL16 Day 19

Inspired by wahooliteracyteacher.wordpress.com

Musicians want to be the loud voice for so many quiet hearts. ~ Billy Joel

Why should I worry?
If I Only Had the Words To Tell You

Tell Her About It
Uptown Girl
We Didn’t Start the Fire

A Matter of Trust
Honesty
An Innocent Man
Only the Good Die Young

I Don’t Want to be Alone
While the Night is Still Young
Getting Closer
You’re My Home
Keeping the Faith

Piano Man
Say Goodbye to Hollywood
Goodnight Saigon
Leningrad
Allentown
I Loved These Days

#SOL16 Day 17

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ~ Matthew 6:21

What treasure would you keep at the end of the rainbow?

I would keep the memories that I have made with my family and friends. Memories – my first date, my wedding day, the birth of my children, the death of my father, the wedding days of my children, the day I learned I was going to be a Nona (grandmom). I would keep all the memories that others may not think were memorable – babysitting my grandchildren, getting published, the faces of my students during the spring show, a thank you received from a student, my 40th birthday spent in Vermont leaf-peeping. I could go on and on.

I have learned over the years that those are more important than gold. So often we get wrapped up in our day to day lives that we forget about those times that brought us joy and sadness, those times that shaped who we have become.

If I keep those memories as treasures, when I am having a bad day, I can go to my “pot of gold”, pull out a memory, and remind myself how good my life has really been. If I keep those memories as treasures, when I am old and having trouble remembering, I can pull out a memory and feel like the younger me.

Thinking about this questions makes me realize that I should be writing more in my journal – my “pot of gold” – because no matter how good a person’s memory is the memories will eventually fade. Writing will keep them alive.

#SOL16 Day 16

No one knows the weight of another’s burden. ~ George Herbert

It’s been a busy day, and I am posting late.  I am tired and didn’t even know what day it was today.  Yet, I knew that at the end of my day I would come home to someone who loved me in my safe little world and lay my weary aching bones down in my comfy bed.  I am one lucky lady.

Then I started thinking about my students and the burdens that some of them carry with them whether it be family illness, their own illnesses, over bearing parents, or inattentive ones.  How many of their heads are resting easy on their pillows tonight?  How many are tossing and turning with worry?

I hope that every day I can keep those thoughts in my mind and remember to think about those burdens before I come down too heavy on one of my students.

#SOL 16 Day 14

One can find so many pains when the rain is falling. ~John Steinbeck

I really don’t like to be a complainer, because I have very little patience for other people who complain.  However, as a grow older I realize that I have become a human barometer.  You don’t need to tune into late night or early morning news to see what the weather is going to be for the day.  My knees will tell you when we are having snow or rain.  They throb and scrape bone on bone making it difficult to walk or even sleep. When the weather is really bad, my wrists join in the fun and make simple tasks like blow drying my hair, opening a jar, or holding something heavier than a  glass of water a major project.

But in case you really cannot put your faith in my knees and wrists, my sinuses will back up the forecast.  I feel a little dizzy. My head pounds, my eyes get dry, and even my teeth hurt when the barometric pressure is on the move.

Today was one of those days.  A cold, raw, nasty rainy day had me wishing I was in sunny Florida, and I don’t even like the heat and sun! I am looking forward to getting all my work finished for the day and climbing into my warm and comfy bed.  If only my head would stop pounding!!!

#SOL 16 Day 13

Sometimes we survive by forgetting. ~Unknown

Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! is an hour-long weekly radio show on NPR where contestants play various games featuring questions based on the week’s news. When I can, I like to listen to it and play along on Saturday afternoons.

These days, however, “wait, wait….don’t tell me” has a different meaning for me.  It seems like I am constantly forgetting words or why I walked into a room.  This is frustrating and unnerving.  Here I am in the middle of class, and I can’t think of the word I want to say.  Sometimes I can even see the first letter of the word I want to use. It is on the tip of my tongue, yet I cannot retrieve it from the filing cabinet of my brain. My students even try to fill in the word for me.  That’s when I want to say,”Wait, wait….don’t tell me!” But they can only wait for so long.  They really are trying to be helpful.

When this forgetfulness first started happening, my mother would tell me that is was because I was doing so much and had so much on my mind.  I believed her. It was plausible.  Yet in the back of my mind I kept worrying that I had early stages of dementia. On more than one occasion I would be in the middle of a conversation and not remember what I was talking about! Then If I remembered, I would have to blurt it out right away before I forgot again.

So rather than ask a medical professional about my memory issue, I played Nancy Drew, and set out to solve the mystery myself.  The more I read, the more I realized that what I was experiencing, and am still experiencing, is a symptom of menopause. So of all the 34 possible symptoms listed I hit the jackpot and am suffering from memory lapses.  What are the other 33 you ask?  Sorry, I don’t remember.