What's new with us?
You know, I usually only post these bloggish entries when we're on tour or something. I guess I must not think our normal life is interesting enough for you. Except when I'm burying the neighbor's cat, that is. But I get asked all the time about how things are going. So maybe it's time for me to share.
You would think, as I did, that being a fulltime musician would be a peaceful life, full of practicing and creativity by day, being Dad and Husband in the evening, and performing on the weekend. And believe me, I'm not complaining. The idea that I could even try to make a living doing what I love is such a blessing. But what I've found is that the days are spent on the phone or computer, trying to get opportunities to play. It's worth it when it works out. I love to go play for people and share my story with them. Love it! It just involves a lot more telemarketing than I thought it would. That, and I teach one day a week. Strangely, that doesn't allow much time for creativity. I wrote more songs when I taught fulltime! But I want to get back to creating new music, and I will do that.
To complicate things further, our home is sort of out-of-order at the moment, and has been for two weeks now. You see, five years ago when we added an addition to our house for Morgan's bedroom, we bought hardwood flooring for his room. But because it was such a good deal at this particular place, we bought enough for our room, too. It sat in our basement, waiting for the right moment. We decided that the right moment was this month. I have learned a lot about ripping out carpet and installing flooring. And we have had professionals do the finish work. I didn't trust myself with a power sander. So all the contents of our room are out in the living room. There's a chaos theme we have going on, and it's taking its toll on us all. Sheri and I are sleeping in Carter's room, and Carter and Morgan are in Morgan's room. When it's time to get dressed, it sometimes requires a short tour of the house to get to the dresser, the closet (couch), and the bins where are shoes are temporarily residing. It's all a little confusing. But we're nearing the end of this all, and it will be a relief to get things back to normal. If there is such a thing as normal.
Another project I have going on is a new cafe ministry at our church in York, which will have its grand opening on March 28. I'm very excited about it! I'm learning to delegate. That's new for me. I usually just dream about a project and then try to pull it off myself after a lot of procrastinating. This is just too big for that. I am learning a lot about trusting others and also keeping in touch with them. I know these are elementary skills for working in a group, but I am usually more of a lone ranger. This is probably good for me.
Also, it's arranging season. You may know that marching band is a big part of my past, and I have stayed peripherally connected by arranging music for bands. ‘Tis the season for arranging to begin, so I am looking forward to doing some writing. It's always fun to dream the sounds up in my head and then find a way to put them on paper so that a band can bring them to life. And then it's fun to follow the band's progress and root for them to bring home a trophy. Bringing home a trophy used to be ALL music was about for me, but if you've heard my story you learned how that all panned out. God gave me a major attitude adjustment when I was right out of college. Now I see music and music teaching a lot differently, and want to serve God and others with my music. But a trophy once in a while doesn't hurt, does it? :-)
Then there's the yard. We cut down a bunch of live trees this fall to get more light into our yard. We're pretty woodsy here. But, as usual, this project has dragged waaaaaaay out. I still have a garden piled high with branches of all sizes, a few big logs that still need to become part of my firewood pile, and a big, dirt pile that needs to be corralled and made into a little garden.
How will I get all these things done? With God's help, that's the only way. He can give me strength to accomplish what's too big for me. He can give me the focus that I lack. He can give me the direction to let me know what to do when. And He can give me the resolve to say “no” when the next thing I shouldn't agree to comes along. And it will! So, say a prayer for me. And if you don't see me for a while, I may be trapped under that brush pile. Send help, please!
