Recovering From "Vacation"

As I sit here writing this blog, I must admit that most every inch of my body aches. I had no idea just how stressful and tiring a "vacation" could really be. I suppose I should give a little explanation on all of this.


As you may know, my parents and I just returned from Conroe, Texas, where we spent a week with my cousin and his family. For my parents, this was truly a vacation. Dad spent much of the week on the waters of Lake Conroe fishing with Jerry; Mom enjoyed lazy days in the house watching television and napping the afternoons away. I was thrilled to see my parents get a much-deserved respite from their daily grind.


Personally, I have to classify this as a "vacation" for me. Even though I was away from the Memphis area and took off time from my day job to go to Texas, it was very much a working trip for me. On Friday evening, I performed in the Mosaic concert at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Houston along with my friends Jere Douglas, clarinet, and Sandra Cox, flute. Jere and I spent most of the week in rehearsals, so I logged many miles driving along I-45 between Conroe and Houston.


Friday evening's concert was a magical experience for a number of reasons. Not only was the performance space beautiful, a magnificent sanctuary with lots of exposed hardwood and high arching ceilings, but I was getting to play some music that I dearly love - most notably the Brahms Sonata Op. 120, No. 2 in Eb major for clarinet and piano. I will not bore my readers here with a thorough analysis of the performance, but if you are interested, you can keep an eye on my professional blog, Collaborations, where you can expect see my personal review in the coming days.


This recital also holds a special place in my heart because it was the first time I was able to perform for some special people in the audience. Jerry and his wife, Gail, have opened their home to my family for years. Many of our favorite summertime memories are associated with the lake there as well as the fun, food, and friendship shared around the kitchen island. Yes, I do consider water-logged rides in an unsinkable boat a fond memory. Of course, there's also frozen Noxzema for horrible sunburns, intertubing on the lake, fierce fights with fire ants, and amazing meals. (Did I mention the FOOD?)


On Friday evening, these two precious family members attended the recital simply to hear me play. It is true that they had heard me play in the past, but it was never something that I had actually prepared and was never in a performance setting. While they knew that I played the piano, they had not actually heard what I was capable of doing. It was an honor to share my music with them; their presence at my recital made me feel amazing. As I played, I was overjoyed and became more excited with each passing note. The emotion was energizing and I am happy to say that I played very well. (Yes, I just admitted that......so many of you now have an idea of exactly HOW WELL the recital actually went!)


I got back to Conroe around 11pm Friday evening, finally ate a quick bite of fast food from Jack in the Box (love those grilled sourdough burgers!), and headed to bed at midnight. The following morning, Mom and I began the long trip back to Arkansas shortly after 8am; Dad had flown home the day before in order to be at the funeral of his brother, Lance. As I drove, I began to realize how extremely sore I was as a result of Friday's recital. I realize it sounds strange to many non-pianists, but let me assure you that a two-hour piano recital involves the muscles of the lower back, legs, and abdomen that you would not expect to engage while playing the piano. This is in addition to the obvious strain placed on the hands, fingers, forearms, and shoulders. Normally a few stretches the following day will take care of much of the stiffness in the back and legs. On Saturday, however, I spent nearly ten hours in the driver's seat of my Outlander, allowing for very little movement. Rather than giving you all the gory details about my body's condition, let me simply say that I will be making an appointment for a much needed massage tomorrow morning!


This morning, I returned to my normal work responsibilities and played the morning service, utilizing the electric keyboard because my hands couldn't withstand the pressure necessary for the Kawai. I left church, grabbed a quick sandwich, and finally came home and crawled back in bed. Not quite the ending I had expected after an enjoyable - albeit busy - week in Texas, but it's what we sometimes have to do in order to recover from our "vacations."


As a side note, I heard from Jere today. Apparently our recital was received amazingly well by the congregation at St. Andrew's and plans are already underway to establish a recital series hosted by the church and funded in part by the music ministry. What a great opportunity for outreach by this congregation to another segment of the Houston community. I'm honored to say that I was a part of the premiere recital in the series and look forward to making a return visit in the future.