Hits and Misses (December 7-13)

Here's a look back at the week that was.....

HITS

• All of Sunday and Monday evening were devoted to the final performances of the Christmas production at First Marion. I was thrilled to be a part of a great show and really had a good time. Still, I'm glad this event only comes around once a year.
• Another semester is over! I submitted grades to MSCC on Monday morning. On Tuesday, I
  
  traveled back to Jackson to give my last piano final and play for instrumental boards. Wednesday morning, I submitted grades for Class Piano III at Union and officially started my Christmas holiday.
• Now that I'm on holiday, I have been able to devote my attention to a ton of reading! I had a great experience whipping through a Brad Thor novel. At the moment, I'm reading a piece of Christmas fluff as well as a biography of the composer Felix Mendelssohn. To balance things out, I have also started reading a book intended for piano teachers.
• Why the interest in piano pedagogy again? On Saturday, I began teaching private piano lessons at Bartlett Music Academy. My friends, Bobby and Melissa, recently added the Academy to their portfolio. When they asked me to join the teaching faculty, I was a bit hesitant at first because of my already busy schedule. They were very understanding and were willing to work with my availability. On Saturday morning, I had my first lessons with two brothers. The kids were great and BMA's new Young-Chang piano is a wonderful addition. I left the studio with a smile on my face and enjoyed getting home to make notes and begin planning for our next session after Christmas.  If you know anyone looking for quality music instruction in the Memphis area, feel free to contact me for information about BMA.
• Since school is out, I made it out to do a little Christmas shopping. I headed over to Dinstuhl's chocolates for a few treats as well as a fruitcake for Dad.  After grabbing a few other gifts (I have to keep a few secrets, y'all!), I headed home and got things wrapped while the Geriatrics were out for a few hours. I'm definitely not done, but I have at least made a dent in my shopping list!
• Saturday was full of laughter as I enjoyed some humorous texts with three of my Malibu friends. Sometimes you just need a good laugh to make it through the day.

MISSES

• After a lot of playing this week, my hands are more achy than normal. I continue to sleep in wrist braces each night and have been wearing them more throughout the day as the week has progressed. As much as I don't want to think about it, I have a sneaky feeling that a season of piano rest (no playing at all) is in my future for a little while.
• In addition to my hands, I'm just feeling rather yucky all around. After teaching on Saturday, I headed over to the mall to see a friend. While walking the mall, I noticed that I was becoming more easily winded than normal. As I write this post, I've developed a cough that is producing occasional phlegm. "Dr. Freeman's" self-diagnosis is that the sinus infection I pushed through (and self-medicated) at the end of the semester has settled into my chest and turned into bronchitis. After dealing with chest congestion for many years, I'm normally a pretty good predictor of the condition. I plan to call the doctor first thing Monday morning to hopefully nip this in the bud before it explodes on me.

There you have it!  Have a great week everybody.