Music, Books, Kids, and more Music

It's been an interesting spring. Remember when I wrote about how my son is in the local youth chamber orchestra and how I missed playing? Then I wrote about how much I have enjoyed playing my cello lately...

Anyway, the youth chamber orchestra usually has a "specialist" for each section of strings. Imagine my surprise and outright shock when they called me and asked me if I would like to be the cello string specialist for the chamber orchestra. I seriously had no words! I told them that I wasn't as good as the previous cello specialist, and they told me that was ok. So, after a discussion with Shane (who literally was looking at me like, "why are we discussing this, and why aren't you on the phone telling them that you'll do it?!") So, of course I accepted.

I admit a huge part of me keeps wondering when they will figure it out and realize they made a mistake in asking me.

I guess that's one of my biggest issues. Feeling like people are always thinking I play terrible. I know they don't. I know that unless I play a squeaky high note, most people are just amazed that I play an instrument and think it's super cool!

So, playing with that group has been really fun.

Then I have my two cello students (yep, you read that right, TWO) and honestly I am ok that there are just two. It's been an adventure since one of them is young. Nine years old. And that has been really interesting. Who knew that my primary teaching skills would come in handy teaching a nine year old?! Not me.

Add to that my part time library job which I love, and 98% of the time my music doesn't even interfere with it.

Plus a spring concert with the local community orchestra which I also play in, and rehearsals for that, and they are playing some difficult music...as in, I haven't played music this difficult since I was in college, so that has been an adventure!

Plus kids, school, preschool, and everything else.

Equals a very packed schedule. At least what feels like one to me. It's an enjoyable busy though. Not a stressful one most of the time, and that is the key ingredient right?

An added bonus is that playing the cello is good physical therapy for my hands, and that is definitely a great thing.

Cello cello cello

I love playing my cello.

If I didn't have to worry about my kids ruining my bow or touching my strings where the bridge is, which is bad, and also right about the height of their hands, then I would probably be playing it more.

On top of which, it's not just playing it...it's practicing and getting things to sound right, and having good fingerings. I haven't ever just wanted to practice my cello. EVER. Now, I do.

Like, right now, I want to be playing it, but I can't, because I need to keep Emmett and Jeffrey from destroying the house.

Apparently when I cleared all the negative junk from my chakras, a huge chunk of that was all the critical negative things that went with playing music. I know that was a while ago, but here I am, wanting to play my cello again.

I don't know if I can fully explain what a miracle that is. How burned out I was on all things musical. How even preparing for a concert was painful. It was a love/hate relationship of wanting to play the music, but not wanting to. That is all gone now. I'm even contemplating joining a community orchestra farther away from where I live because they perform more often. THEY PERFORM MORE OFTEN.

Do you know how crazy that sounds to me? Me, who even doing just one concert a year was adequate. Me, who for the past three years...nothing. Granted, I had good excuses. I just had a baby. I've been really sick. Things are just too crazy. But then there's this year. I had surgery, and I can't even carry my cello to rehearsals because it weighs too much, and I am still dedicated and wanting to do it! My son carries my cello case for me because I can't.

It doesn't even bother me that my hands don't work the way they used to. Well...okay, it bothers me but not in a, I should never play the cello again kind of way, but more of a, I'm going to play the cello as long as I can kind of way.

Now I just need to save up and buy some new strings.... (that doesn't sound like that big of a deal until you realize that the strings I like cost about 400-500 a set for some new ones.)