It’s hard to believe that we are now in September, the month where our regulated lives catch back up with us before we are ready for it. I think we need a “warning month” in the calendar - let’s move February to the end of August and use it to just prepare our minds for the recommencement of days crammed full of meetings, school schedules, conferences, etc. The weather in northeast Ohio usually stays fairly nice through the first part of autumn, so September would still be in the books before the snow flies.
If this approach proves to be too challenging, and I’m willing to admit that it may be, then here are some other ideas for avoiding that deer-in-the-headlights approach to facing the end of summer.
- Get your summer fix. Cram every minute of the next week or so with the pursuit of the “perfect moment.” Try going to the beach at 6 a.m.; ride your bike to work but also as you’re mowing the lawn (don’t forget to wear your helmet); eat ice cream with every meal (hey, if you’re riding your bike all the time, no problem); replace all your light bulbs with tanning lights; pour sand in all your shoes; you get the picture…
- Employ productive avoidance techniques for the immediate resumption of unceasing demand on your time. Practice using phrases like, “Was that meeting scheduled for today? I thought it was next Monday at 10 a.m.,” or “I’m planning on getting right to that when we get into the second quarter,” and there is always the old standby, “How about never for that meeting? Is never OK for you?”
- If all else fails, embrace the continuation of responsibility. Close all shades and curtains to block all those pesky sunbeams and muffle the twitter of happy birds and instead knuckle down at your keyboard, work in the cool, ionic glow of the monitor, and twitter everyone you know about how great it is to be back nosin’ that ol’ grindstone for the next eight to ten months. Try not to let your tears short out your computer.
Meanwhile, I can still summon up a few thoughts of halcyon days by relating yet another story of a faculty member at The Music Settlement giving back to others during their time off this summer.
Lisa Gallagher has a pretty regimented schedule as a member of our Music Therapy Department. Like all our therapists, she has to fit her personal time around a demanding schedule, which only leaves her a designated period for kicking up her heels. So what does she do when she has the chance to lie in the sun and read pulp fiction? Well, let’s let her tell the story:
“I was a camp counselor at the Ohio State Fair with the All-Ohio State Fair Band - 200 high school students from all over the state of Ohio. The music directors are responsible for them when they are performing, and the other counselors and ‘camp’ staff are responsible for them the remainder of the time.”
I asked Lisa, “Are you nuts? You do that sort of thing 40-50 weeks of the year already, why do it in your time off?”
She wrote back:
“It was definitely a fun time! People think we're crazy because we basically work from 7:00 a.m. to midnight, and it's a lot of responsibility playing parent, nurse, counselor, disciplinarian, etc., but we do enjoy it a lot and actually find it to be relaxing. And we have great friends at the Fair that we only see once a year, but they are like another family to us.”
This is what defines the great people at The Music Settlement – the work they do is not just a job, but for them it’s a calling!
Finally, I wanted to call your attention to a couple of online articles related to the impact of music on personal enrichment and achievement. These stories reinforce what we see every day at The Music Settlement in our classroom, studios and performance spaces. First is the story of a summer camp program for children who stutter, and who find strength and solutions through performance and the support of their peers. The camp is in upstate New York State and is called Camp Our Time, and the link to the story is below:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32553108/ns/health/
The other article relates a recent study that supports the link between participating in community chorus programs and individual success and civic commitment. Click on the link below to find out more:
http://www.chorusamerica.org/about_choralsinging.cfm
Well, that’s enough for now. Look for my first official blog of the fall next week – if I don’t short out my computer first, that is…
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