Transformational Power of Music

      I recently drug hubby to see a favorite musician from college days and I was struck by the power of music and all the different connections it forges.

     Not only was I instantly swept back into that time period (late '80's if you must know) but all the memories, emotions and angst resurfaced, too. It was as if  by some scientific phenomenon I was somehow zapped from 2024 and plopped down smack in the middle of my college days in San Diego. I was feelings things, and pondering stuff that literally had not crossed my mind for almost forty years!

   "Man, being away from home is hard!"

   "I got to get across the campus in less than ten minutes!"

    "Everyone else seems to have this down. . ."

     The awkwardness, the homesickness, but most of all the feelings of insecurity came bubbling up that night. I marveled at not only the fact that music could do that, but also at my own inner strength during that time away from home. I wanted to hug that 18 year old waif and give her support. Instead, I just settled for listening to the musician's play list on Spotify on the drive home.We both laughed together when we surprised an occasional neighboring driver at a stoplight with our singing.

New Things

 

      This weekend I put myself out there, and attended the most magnificent children's writing conference nestled deep in the Monterey coast.

       And even before I put my name tag on, checked in at the hotel, or even surveyed the grounds I was transported back to my eight- year old self starting brand new at a school in California.

    No matter how old you are, doing something new, acclimating, making yourself vulnerable and initiating conversations with people that you don't know can be a bumpy road.

    As a teacher I think about how too often I gently nudged my students, and even my own children through these rocky transitions probably a little too quickly. Scratch that- definitely too quickly.

   Yet, on the flip side, when it's all said and done with, the same feeling washes over me when I complete a task or adventure that has pushed me out of my comfort zone. A tiny voice  inside me seems to always say, "Now that wasn't so bad was it?"

Unexpected Symphony

 

   Somehow, recently I have become a ornithophile? (Bird lover) And I can't explain it- but it happened. My sister-in-law turned me onto this uber cool app that identifies the bird by its' call and I'm hooked. This morning in my bedroom with windows shut (Im in northern California- can you say, "rain?") and I  thought I heard a bird singing. I opened the window to discover pretty much a bird party, and it seemed like I might have just got invited?

   The American Robin could be heard  distinctly above the rest, and then the others seemed to follow suit dovetailing and amazingly waiting their turn. The cool thing about the app is it identifies the bird, and lights up in yellow when that bird is singing.  I was quiet, and listened intently to my concert. 

     Who knew a hummingbird had a song? I wondered.  But more importantly, who knew how well a Nuttall Woodpecker could keep the rhythm with his steady tapping? 

     I smiled contentedly.