Life As I Know It

While at a leadership seminar over the weekend I was introducing myself to someone in the catered buffet-style lunch line and after giving her a complete and thorough job description she asked, "And what else do you enjoy doing when you have spare time?" I looked at her for a solid three seconds before I could even think of what to say next. "What else do I do? Oh wait, in a different context I enjoy sewing, gardening, and just domestic kinds of things" was what I was thinking and ended up saying something along those lines to her. It was nice to meet someone who seems to enjoy sewing as much I do (did?) though.

["The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes, and surely it is in the everyday things around us that the beauty of life lies." --Laura Ingalls Wilder]

Life now though is completely different than any other season of life I've been in yet, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I've inherited well over a dozen private violin students, I have 25 students in my 2 group string classes, and well over a hundred (or 200?) little children in my Kindermusik classes, though thankfully I only see 30-45 of them a day. There are lesson plans to write, violin bridges that fall down and that need to be put back up, egg shakers and zigzag blocks to be sanitized, bulletin boards that need to be changed once a month (and of course I *only* have 4 of them), instruments to be tuned or new strings put on to replace the broken ones, giving a listening ear to heartbroken 4th graders, tapping a steady foot to the dreaded rhythm exercises ("Aw, man, not again!"), holding precious 3 year olds who just want to be loved instead of shaking bells, and ... I probably just exceeded the legal word count for a sentence. Or is that even a sentence? Perhaps this gives a shapshot of what life looks like as a strings teacher. It is the best thing ever, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Wait, I think I already said that though didn't I? :)

If my evenings and weekends aren't busy spending time with friends, going to Bible studies, working in my classroom or helping another teacher with theirs, I generally like to go back to my "cottage" and turn on the stove for a whistling tea kettle, pour a cup of tea (my college roommate got me hooked on lemon ginger when she came up over the Thanksgiving holiday), and read books or catch up on social media. Since I don't have wifi or internet set up yet, I'm limited to my small DVD collection to watch on my laptop if I'm in the mood. As idyllic as that sounds, my evenings tend to be spent running errands, grocery shopping, fixing supper, and prepping for the next day. I generally try to get as much done as possible since once my ever-consistent 6am alarm goes off, my task between then and arriving at school is spent in attempting to wake up (we aren't even talking getting out of bed yet...) and looking presentable for the day.


Christmas break flew by so quickly that I never had the chance to pack up any sewing supplies while at my parents house, so alas, it will be after school lets out until I'll be able to see them. Most likely my parents will bring them out when they drive out for the annual family vacation. So while that is one hobby that I've let collect dust, I've uncovered several antique shops within driving distance from my rural (comparatively speaking) town. Still on the lookout for a small bookcase and a nightstand; both for my bedroom. It is fun to "set up housekeeping" as my Grandma calls it, and she has been so sweet to give me a few things. One of which is her mother's solid wood rolling pin. Still have yet to use it, though I was just given 6 lbs of sour cherries so I'm thinking a cherry pie is on the menu in the not to distant future.


The stove beeper is calling my name. Must run, but I hope to be back on the blog sooner rather than later. Kudos to anyone who actually read this post after being silent for months in the blogosphere. :)