Reading, Singing, Watching, and Thinking

Reading lately....

The Plantagenet novels by Philippa Gregory.  I had read her novels about the Boleyn sisters a few years back and really enjoyed them.  Now I'm going even further back in time for more British monarchy fun.  If you can call it that.  Sorry to say it, but those of us of Anglo-Saxon descent have such a bloody history and so many tyrannical, power-hungry ancestors.  What up with that?  Why couldn't they just stop fighting over everything like three-year-olds?  It was the middle ages, so maybe humans just weren't that socially evolved yet, I get it.  But they did so many terrible things to each other, and often in the name of Christianity, it really makes me sad sometimes.  Well, hopefully we have learned from those mistakes???? Ummmm...

Moving on to happier things...

Singing lately...

Bach!  Lots of Bach!  So beautiful, so difficult, so profound, so rewarding.

I'm getting ready for my St. Matthew solos and learning new things every day about myself and my voice.  I am taking lessons with a new teacher and it has been really eye-opening... I've never had such technical teaching and I've never been so aware of all my different places of tension.  It's almost a little overwhelming because I don't feel like I can fully master total freedom in my voice before this big performance... which could make me even MORE nervous about this performance, if I let it.  But I'm trying not to let it, I'm trying to just be grateful that I can sing this amazing music and be a part of telling the Passion story in such a profound way, however imperfectly my voice may be working for me!  I am beginning a journey toward complete vocal health, and it's a good one.  I have really struggled a lot with nerves the past few years when singing, and since this is really the biggest performance I've ever done, well... it's a continued struggle.  But in the last week or so I have felt less nervous and more thankful and excited.  Praying that keeps up.

I have a vocal coaching tomorrow with my coach from way back in college, and I'm so excited to work with him again!  It will be like meeting an old friend :)  I'll be performing some of the solo arias at his church in a few weeks, so hopefully that will be a chance to get some nerves out in a safe space, and feel a little more experienced with this piece.  I hope to enjoy it!  I'll keep you updated on how all the pre-performances go!

Watching lately...

I tried the first episode of Outlander Season 5 and I was really meh about it.

It makes sense; I've had a love-hate relationship with this show from the beginning.  I have kind of felt the same way about the books too.  At times the story is really compelling and absorbing, at other times it seems either laughingly unrealistic or unbearably slow.  Also with somewhat unnecessary gratuitous steamy scenes.  I found the first episode of season 5 to be winning in the unbearably slow category.  I guess that was because nothing bad happened, lol.  Anyone else an Outlander fan?  Maybe I'll give it one more chance with episode 2, or maybe I'll just try Beecham House instead; I've heard great things about that one!  Send me ideas for historical dramas, please!  :)

Thinking Lately...

I was thinking today about how, as a veteran mom of four, some people might think I have tons of advice to offer about parenting.  Some days I feel like I've learned a few things, other days I feel like the only things I've learned are that every child is different and every day brings a new parenting challenge to figure out.  However... one thing I have been feeling really happy about this week is the way we did chores with our girls.  M has always encouraged me, from the early days of our marriage and parenthood, to communicate well about the things that need to be done and to not be a hero and take on the world all by myself.  Although I still struggle sometimes to ask for help when I need it, his words to me over the years helped me to get the girls involved in doing chores early, especially while we were homeschooling and there was a lot on my plate.  They have all had gradually increasing housework responsibilities from age 4-5 and I tried to take some time when we were homeschooling to actually instruct them on the "how-to" of cleaning and other household tasks.  This has been a loonnngg journey for me in letting go of perfection.

This year, we set up the chore chart so that the girls help me with the bathroom, and the way I typically structure it is that they trade off with me every other week, so I can be assured that all bathroom fixtures are getting a real, thorough cleaning at least every two weeks.

Today, for the first time as I was cleaning, I realized that the girls didn't do such a bad job last week, and finally, after many years of not-so-perfect toilet cleaning, they are learning to notice for themselves whether or not it's really clean.  Lots and lots of practice has finally started to make perfect.  The toilet is sort of a microcosm of the ways in which they've grown, and become more responsible, and are beginning to notice the things that need to be done, take initiative, and even more importantly, they are seeing when I am stressed and looking overwhelmed, and pretty regularly asking what they can do to help me.

And isn't that what we want for our kiddos?  More than having a clean house, really, it's important to me that my girls are looking out for people in distress, and seeking out ways that they can help.  Being a responsible and empathetic human being can be taught by chores.  So there you go.  I think I might have done one thing right.  ;-}

I'll leave you with a few kiddo pictures, because they're cute.

Snuggly Barbies.

She still thinks I'm cool and wants to dress like me.  I hope this lasts for a few more years :)

Focused coloring at the library.  It has become a Wednesday tradition!

She requested a happy meal for lunch, and since we haven't had one in ages, I obliged.  I got an iced coffee and joined her with my sandwich and salad from home for a lunch-time floor picnic, and we watched some old Olympic gymnastics footage.  Maybe this will become a Wednesday tradition too... it was pretty fun!