A Day of Repose

I wish it was summer for a little longer this year. Only in the last couple of weeks have I actually gotten to do any real resting from my ultra-insane year. But, in just two weeks, Kinderchor begins practice again. I can't believe it's already almost Fall!

Over the summer, we all decided that I needed one full day off of all work per week. This is a good thing. All winter I was working 7 days a week. The decision was made to make Saturday my "day off". I must say that I am quite relieved to have it. I think I was really burning out.

As a result of taking this day off, my youth choir at the parish, who previously practiced on Saturdays, is going to have to have their practice bumped to another night during the week. This is going to make for 3 evening practices with three totally different choirs per week.

The biggest issue facing me with this schedule adjustment is prep time. The choirs are all working on completely different material (one is a German choir, one is an adult church choir and the third is a bi-lingual Spanish/English children's choir). Research and practice time are not easy to come by as it is.

It is truly a matter of good organization and good planning, though. I really need to get my practice space and times organized a little better so that I am not wasting time clearing music off of my piano to practice and searching for all my materials every time I go to practice or prep practice plans for them. Everything is a huge mess. Which means that I need to spend a couple of uninterrupted days cleaning and organizing. And because I am working Monday through Friday, that probably means a Saturday work day.

For right now, though, I am being very jealous about my Saturday day of rest. I am being very particular about how I spend it. I have to fight the urge to work on music or schedule meetings for planning committees. Actually, I am trying not to spend it cleaning either. I don't want to be like the proverbial Grasshopper and say there's plenty of time to do it later, but I just need that break in the action right now.

In music, the rests between notes are as important at the sounds. They create dimension and color for the piece. Rest is just as vital in life as it is in music. So, I am hoping I to keep that day clear for as long as I can.


BTW - the graphic above can be purchased as a button through CafePress, here. I think every choir director in the world should own at least one.

Cleaning Revisited

Kind of like "Brideshead Revisited"...
(OK, maybe not.)

Once Upon a Time....
I was the cleaning lady for my office. The building I work in is pretty substantial and I was the only one cleaning it. It took me about 6 hours each week to clean it (working really, really fast) and still I was getting home pretty late at night, so I asked them to find someone else for that task. Not only was it getting in the way of family life, I was exhausted! They found a new person, but now, that person has moved on and I, seeing that things were starting to get out of control again, stupidly volunteered for part of the job again.

I hate to clean. It is, in fact, the thing-most-likely-to-stick-my-butt-to-a-chair. If I even think of cleaning, I will become paralyzed, my butt will become fused to whatever chair I am sitting on and I will be unable to clean at all. But today, I discovered the antidote!

I was asked to start cleaning when I got here, instead of waiting until the afternoon. This, in essence, made it impossible for me to think about cleaning, I just had to do it. Now, it is 3:00 in the afternoon and having cleaned the three bathrooms, the kitchen, and having swept and mopped the entire first floor, I am ready to take on everything else in the building.

Of course, I don't HAVE to, since that's not what I was asked to do... More's the pity for me and them. I would have done an excellent job. Instead, right now I am sitting here admiring my shiny, clean marble hallway and thinking, "Darn, I'm awesome..." I'd better look out before someone knocks me off my cloud.

But that's the secret. Start in the morning before I develop an apologia for why I don't have time or energy. Gosh! It almost makes me like cleaning.