Summertime. . . and the Living is Easy.. .

August 1st.  In some ways today seemed like the first day of summer.  It is the first week we have had at home with nothing extra to do and no where to go.  We were even home this weekend.  I got a good start on unraveling the tangled mess we wove by being gone off and on for six weeks.  Turns out a few things are missing.  Calvin's rain coat.  Calvin's ipod. (Bill's old. . . handed down) and Mary's wallet.  Lost items drive me crazy.  It is the worst.  It makes me want to put a construction dumpster in the driveway and start dumping drawers into it.  It's not my best suit.

Several of you sent condolences regarding my laundry last week.  Thanks.  I am feeling much better now.

Calvin got his glasses today.  He seems happy to be able to see clearly.  I got mine in third grade and they were in the shape of octagons and I was already a little nerdy and slightly plump and I'm not still annoyed with my mother for picking them.  I'm really over it.  And Casey, I'm also over you taking your thumb and making a print on the lens to see if I would see a thumbprint close up.  I'm over it.  Been over it for a long time.  It didn't help that they were like coke bottles and me being on the math bee team and playing french horn and all.  Oh jeepers.  But as you can see, it was all fine--didn't phase me.  In fact I never looked back.

Calvin played in church on Sunday.  He played four pieces with Christina on cello and Sam from church on violin.  They did a lovely job.  Two services. I almost had a cow at rehearsal when he was putting a "Loony Tunes" ending on every song and noodling incessantly in between run-throughs.  But Sunday morning in his shirt and tie he sat there like a choir boy and they all did their very best job.  They had a pretty good train wreck on the Gigue during rehearsal but I looked at Christina and she knows my looks--and she kept going.  I knew if she kept going Calvin WOULD find her and he did.  Sunday morning went without a hitch.  Incidentally--note to self--check your children's footwear on the way to these gigs.  Calvin somehow made it to the church in slacks, shirt, tie, belt, hair combed, teeth brushed, with RED KEEN SANDALS.  Luckily we live a mile away and Bill was able to run the black shoes and socks over for the first service.   A big thank you to Catherine McMichael for the arrangements and Diane Houser for her coaching of the trio along the way.  Thanks also to Kris Henry for trusting me that kids could do chamber music.  I believe the music blessed the service.

I also am going to play for church in a couple weeks.  I'm playing three different middle movements of Beethoven sonatas: Pathetique, Moonlight, and Pastoral.  These are three sonatas my students have been playing and I already worked out the finger numbers and all the musical details, so why shouldn't I get to play them.  Why should the kids have all the fun.

There is a lot to think about.  Calvin was pleased not to play Gigue today for the first time since January or so.  Now I need to get these SOPHOMORES--four of them--ready for recitals.  Not gonna tell them again that if it was me--I'd be practicing four hours a day for their programs. . . they have band camp and soccer and tennis and friends and summertime things.  Not gonna suggest they get off their you-know-whats. . . just not the kinda teacher I am. . . yet. .. I'm giving them one more week.

Then time to get DVD's together for National Convention Auditions.  And Fall masterclasses.  No rest for the wicked. Or is it weary? I never can remember.