Today, I decided to take a day off from all responsibility and try to fully recover from my "vacation." I think that the physical and emotional rest paid off. As I went through the day, I noticed that what I had most missed while away were things that I had probably taken for granted just a week before. Let me tell you about a few of them in no particular order.
The majority of my day was spent right here on the couch with my computer. I enjoyed the stillness of the house today and caught up on reading some blogs I had missed as well as catching up on videos from hulu.com. Though I had my computer with me, last week did not provide the opportunity to sit quietly and leisurely peruse the internet while thinking about what I found there. At the recommendation of a friend, I submitted one of my recent blogs for publication at ezine.com. It has been a goal for the year to finally get something published, but I have always been fearful of the rejection and never thought that my writing was strong enough. Blogging has definitely been helpful in giving me confidence with my words again and has proven to be a great place to try out thoughts and develop them slowly over time. The turn around for ezine article submissions is generally 7 days, so I'll keep you posted on how that goes.
Even though I did a considerable amount of playing while on "vacation," I missed having access to my piano on a regular basis. It was not only the sounds that I missed, but the adventures that I associate with playing. For instance, my day began with some creative harmonizing, followed later by sightreading works by Brahms and Poulenc (two of my FAVORITE composers). As the day progressed, I found myself working on a flute sonata for an upcoming recital before learning vocal lines for the children's musical that's coming up next month. None of this was on the agenda for today, but after an extended absence, I was drawn back to my Boston piano. Today felt like a chance to get reacquainted with a long absent friend. Like those cherished reunions with friends, it didn't take long for my Boston and me to pick things up right where we left off.
My books have been sorely neglected of late. One of my goals for 2010 is to increase the number of books I read this year. Beginning last year, I set a long range goal of ultimately reading 52 books in a single year. 2009 saw roughly 35 books completed. (I would have to pull out my journal to give you the definite tally as well as the list of books and authors, but I could get it at a moment's notice.) This year has been a difficult year for reading thus far. Increased performance opportunities and the stresses of family life have cut into my cherished time getting swept away into an incredible story. Today, I decided that enough time had passed and I simply had to sit down and get absorbed in a story again. I returned to Lisa Scottoline's novel Look Again and have not been able to put it down. I anticipate reading for about another hour tonight before going to bed; the plot thickened just before I began to write and I can hardly wait to get back to it!
Finally, I missed the joys of Mom's cooking. While we were in Texas, Mom did very little cooking. Actually, I think the only thing she made was a chocolate chip bundt cake at my request. I enjoyed the food so much last week that I had hardly noticed that Mom wasn't cooking. Then dinner rolled around tonight and Mom had a spread of broiled chicken (thank you, Weight Watchers) along with her creamed potatoes, fresh corn, and rolls. I know it doesn't sound like a feast to you, but anyone in my family will tell you that Mom's potatoes are the stuff of legend! Many of us have attempted to replicate the simple side dish, but no one can quite get the proportions right. Mom doesn't use precise measurements and the ratios are never the same; it varies depending upon the potato, weather, and other mysterious factors. As I sat down to dinner tonight, I looked at the plate and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Then I began to eat and realized that the creamed potatoes were some of the best I have ever had. So I ate....and ate....and ate! I'll have to make sure that I pay for those extra starches tomorrow on the treadmill.
I suppose the old cliche has proven its validity again in my life: you don't realize what you have until it is gone. Each of these things that were so appreciated today had been overlooked and considered part of the routine a week ago. That must be why things come and go in our lives--so we will be grateful for what we have in each season of life. I plan to take a look around tomorrow and see what new rediscovery I might make as an absent "friend" makes a fresh return into my life.
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