The Fruit of the Spirit

My mom came Wednesday with Josie the puppy and it started a chain of events.  I think I taught seven hours on Wednesday and Thursday and Friday night was groups. As the last high school kid left after his last group lesson of fifteen years of group. . . he turned and lingered on the front porch and said awkwardly but sincerely. . . well. . . thanks for all the groups. . . I said you are welcome.  And went inside and it felt like someone squeezed my heart.

Goodbyes, even when they are the natural course of events and faced with pride and gratitude and joy and hope for the future--are still goodbyes. I've known this since the sixth grade when my best friend moved. I felt it again when my sister left for college. Sometimes things just aren't going to ever be the same. There's that squeeze again.

Mary's Book Two Graduation went off without a hitch on Saturday.  Thanks to all the special people in Mary's life who came!  I don't know if she understands how special it is that you all took the time to come, because she just knows you love her and that is what we do when we love people, we show up. She is too innocent to know that you had twenty other things to do and you came to our house anyway.  So, thank you. Mary played beautifully. Not flawlessly, but in control and from the heart and when push comes to shove that's all I've ever wanted. It's not about remembering all the repeats.

It is a little bit about getting your ears pierced. . .which we did at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday. As promised.

Sunday morning was our spring church choir choral service. The message was "The Fruit of the Spirit." Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self control. That was a blessing, because the whole week while I was stressed out about getting all the work done for these events and picking arguments with my husband and snapping at my kids I was practicing the anthem, "Lord, make me an instrument of the thy peace." And the whole time I was wigging out about getting everyone's clothes and uniforms for the choral service and the recital afterward I was practicing another anthem, "Beloved, God's chosen, put on as a garment, compassion, forgiveness, and goodness of heart. . above all, before all, let love be your raiment. . . "  That's great, but the sleeves of last year's compassion are still a little too short.

It's good to have a sense of humor about one's spirituality.

The services were lovely, the choir sounded good. Mary sang with the choristers. Bill played clarinet and tenor sax with the orchestra. There weren't really any humdinger accompaniments. It might have been fun to prove to my mom and my in laws how difficult my church job is. . . but I might have blown a gasket if that were the case.  I do have mental limits. Lucky for me the pieces were mostly just pretty with one jazzy fun one--hence the tenor sax and one big brass mixed meter selection--hence the tuba and clarinet.

Move the alter. . . push the piano front and center. Change out of the black and pentecost red. What is our raiment? Bill, could you get the gosh darn raiment out of the car?

Cassy and Aidan showed up an hour early to warm up and get used to the piano.
They didn't have their proms last night. . . Hey--I know that sleep is sometimes the best practice. I held back my last minute suggestions.  Slower. . . slower. . . slower. . . they are almost eighteen after all.  It's hard to let go.

At least I can still boss Calvin around. . . so I took it out on him. . . slower. . .slower. . . slower.
He played K. 330, the S.A.M. graduation piece. I was very pleased. Why shouldn't he play it well?  He listened to it in the womb for nine months while I prepped for my book six teacher training. But again, it's all about being there in the music and not somewhere else in your brain and that's what I was the most proud of. He was incredulous that I accepted it as his Book Six graduation recording.  He made a few mistakes after all. I didn't tell him that all over the country Suzuki piano teachers are working their butts off on that piece trying to make a perfect video for their own teacher training. . . I think his will be just fine for the S.A.M. graduation.

All 21 kids played so nicely. I couldn't be more proud. Our four seniors shined--I think they each had the perfect piece--we nailed the repertoire this time!

Linda's cookies. Heavy sigh.

We all watched the DVD of some photos of each of the seniors. Thank you so much Linda and Tammy for the ten-months-pregnant-over-alls pictures of me. . . just one more of the times we shared.

I don't know what to write. The past 15 years have held breast cancer survival, divorce and healing, friends moving, parents dying, job layoffs, births of children, mystery illnesses, losing friends and healing, marriages, and a lot of parties at the lake!  The fabric of our lives is woven together.

It's woven with music and love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. . . . gentleness. . . faithfulness. . .self control.  And just look what the fruit of the spirit--the fruit of our labor--has produced! Every one of these piano kids has a light that shines from them--the stars and the ones who aren't the stars! They all shine.

I'm so proud of each kid. The Debussy and the Twinklers and all the Bach in between.
Congratulations and this is just the start--you graduates have your whole life in front of you, and the rest of you--we have three more weeks of lessons and then I'll see you in the Fall! And the next chapter starts.