Poetry Thursday- Kindness

Someone told me recently that I was the kindest person they had ever met, and frankly, I was surprised. I don't consciously think about what it means to be "kind." I try to treat others as I would wish to be treated, but I think that true kindness is much more selfless than I could ever pretend to be, and demands a willingness to sacrifice and a depth of experience that I have never faced. This poem by Naomi Shihab Nye expresses what I feel kindness demands. I can only hope to have true kindess "go everywhere with me, like a shadow or a friend."

Before you know what kindness really is you must lose things, feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth. What you held in your hand, what you counted and carefully saved all this must go so you know how desolate the landscape can be between the regions of kindness. How you ride and ride thinking the bus will never stop, the passengers eating maize and chicken will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness. you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho lies dead beside the road. You must see how this could be you, how he too was someone who journeyed through the night with plans and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside, you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing. You must speak to it till your voice catches the thread of all sorrows and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore, only kindness that ties your shoes and sends you out into the day to mail letters and purchase bread, only kindness that raises it head from the crowd of the world to say It is I you have been looking for, and then goes with you everywhere like a shadow or a friend. Naomi Shihab Nye

Me-From A-Z

Thanks to Susan at soozphotoz for another super idea -the A-Z of me (or of you if you choose to play!) Here goes: Accent: Mostly midwestern, but a little bit of my central Kentucky heritage pokes thoo ever' now an agin; Booze: Strictly Chardonnay Chore I Hate: Emptying the dishwasher Dogs/Cats: Magic and Molly, Shih Tzus extraordinaire Essential Electronics: Laptop, cell phone, TIVO, programmable Cuisinart coffee grinder/maker Favorite Perfume: Scents make me sneeze, even when other people are wearing them Gold/Silver: Gold, always Hometown: Redford, Michigan, born here, raised here, still live here, and probably ready to leave here Insomnia: Right before a concert Job Title: Depending on the day, either Accompanist or Report Writing Coordinator Kids: One, a 26 year old male Living Arrangements: One old house in an old midwestern town; one new house in an up and coming southwest Florida city. Ask me which one I like best! Most admired trait: Kindness to others Number of sexual partners: Right now and for the forseeable future, one and only one Overnight hospital stays: Three nights, following the birth of my son Phobias: Enclosed places - just the thought of a CT scan makes me shiver Quote: Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him march to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. Henry David Thoreau Religion: A believer, but cool to organized religion Siblings: None Time I Usually Wake Up: 6:30 a.m. in summer; 7:30 in winter Unusual Talent: Trivia master Vegetable I Refuse to Eat: Rutabaga Worst Habit: Worrying too much, although I'm getting better with age X-Rays: Right elbow, broken last winter when I tripped over my own foot walking the dogs Yummy Foods I Make: Pot Roast, Farmer's Breakfast Casserole, French Toast Zodiac Sign: Pisces, the fish

Resolutions Redux

For those of us who work in schools, summertime is like a mini New Year. When I think of three months without classes, rehearsals, and performances to prepare for, my mind literally roils with all the things I want to do. Here are some of the things bubbling around in my head:

1. This summer, I am determined to lose the 15 pounds of pre-menopausal fat that have mysteriously accumulated in various places on my body over the past two years. Tomorrow, I'm going to FitZone for Women and sign up. I will then faithfully return there every Monday, Thursday, and Friday and spend 30 minutes on the treadmills, bicycles, or circuit training machines. So there, body! Take that!
2. This summer, I am delving into a new creative realm-photography. Jim has always been the family photographer, and he's so darn good at it I was never tempted to try it myself. But I just bought myself an Olympus 310, my own personal digital camera, and can't wait to start snapping. Hopefully, I'll have some shots good enough to post on this site.
3. This summer, I'm going to continue writing, and explore an online workshop or class, as well as seek out new blogs to inspire me, so that I can prepare at least one personal essay or short story to submit for publication.
4. This summer, I'm going to get one of my Beethoven Piano Sonata's back in shape. For the past couple of years I've been playing Mozart and Haydn, while my vintage Artur Schnabel editions of the Beethoven gathered dust in the basement. I pulled one out the other day and was immediatly struck by the way he enlarged the sonata form and made it so exciting. As I paged through Volume 1, I was surprised at how many of them I had actually learned once upon a time.
5. This summer, I'm going to read Dickens' Bleak House and watch the new BBC mini-series, which was highly recommended by my friend Shari, who has very discerning taste when it comes to TV. I'm also going to explore more poetry, since I've been inspired by Poetry Thursday.
6. This summer, I'll be cooking more, exploring some healthy eating options (in keeping with Number 1 on my list). I'm off to Barnes and Noble later today for some cookbook shopping.
7. This summer, as every summer, I'm going to relish more time with my family, my doggies, and the outdoors. I'm making it a priority to visit my mother in law every week, as well as my aunt and uncle. It's amazing how an hour spent watching the doggies can cheer them up. I'm also hoping for daily walks in the park with Magic and Molly, and lots of opportunites to sit on the patio with my book and a cold glass of wine, watching the sun go down and the fireflies come out.

So much for my summer resolutions. I have to keep tamping down new ones as they pop into my mind, knowing how easy it is to be overcome with ideas and then lack the courage to begin anything! Earlier today, I got excited about scrapbooking, after seeing some awesome digital scrapbook entries on a blog I ran across. That would tie in so well with my new photography pursuit...

I Belong in - Dublin?

You Belong in Dublin

Friendly and down to earth, you want to enjoy Europe without snobbery or pretensions. You're the perfect person to go wild on a pub crawl... or enjoy a quiet bike ride through the old part of town.

What European City Do You Belong In?

Based on my answers to several questions, this litte internet test has determined my heart really belongs in Dublin. I don't know about that - I felt really at peace last spring when I was in Kent, particularly in this little town called Frant, just near Tunbridge Wells. I'm willing to give Dublin a try, though. I like the part about the pub crawl, which would certainly have to come after the bike ride!

School's Out

Next week I get my life back. If you're a teacher, you know what I mean. School's out, and suddenly we all emerge from the cocoon of the classroom and stand blinking in the bright sunlight of our own personal lives, wondering blankly what to do with them. For the past 13 years, I've been working with high school musicians, specifically singers, as the piano accompanist for choirs in a magnet school for the arts. In the world of vocal music, the months between February and May are extremely intense. First comes District Solo Ensemble Festival, close on the heels of the Valentine's Cabaret. Then District Choral Festival, followed closely by State Solo Ensemble. Then "The Musical" (Hello Dolly this year), State Choral Festival, Spring Concert, Tour Competition (in Washington DC last weekend) - which brings us (WHEW!) to "Movin' On," the final showcase concert for Choralation, our senior ensemble/show choir.

This is a very poignant concert, as the title suggests, with each senior singing a lyric from the song which gives the concert it's name, ending with "I just keep movin', cause it helps to ease the pain." Needless to say, there are many tears, probably the most heartbreaking of which come from the "tough guys" who never fail to sob the hardest.

This year's crop is particularly talented and very close. There's Liz (whose mom has been in and out of hospital for the past four years being treated for bipolar disorder and alcoholism) who still manages to be editor of the school paper, earn first place awards at vocal festivals, and handle a starring role in the musical. She's off to Western Michigan University on a journalism scholarship. There are Vinnie and Matt, the "Martin and Lewis" of the department. Inseparable since kindergarten, they travel on to pursue their thespian dreams-one to Los Angeles, the other to New York. And Eden, the star of every show that goes up at school, also famous for losing her wallet in every city she's visited in the past year, also going to LA to study acting. David, the meterologist in training, Tyler, who has "always wanted to be a city planner (what an odd dream for a child to have!), "Dr." Teresa, who always listens to everyone's problems and wants to open her own psychology clinic. The list goes on.

Next year's group of seniors is just as diverse and talented. Difference is, I won't be there on the sidelines as the dramas of their lives unfold. Their director, my good friend Pat, is retiring after 18 years of gently guiding young people toward the fulfillment of their dreams. She has done amazing things for her students, and I have loved riding her coattails. As her first bunch of graduates heads into their 30's, we've loved watching their college and professional performances, attending school concerts for those who have become music teachers, being part of their life experiences like weddings and baby showers, and sadly enough, leading a group of alumni in singing at a funeral.

So as this era of my life comes to a close, I stand in the glare of more than just the ususal three months away from school. I'll be looking for other ways to keep my fingers limber on the keyboard (the one with 88 ivories that is!) I'll also be looking for ways to replace the energy, spirit, and enthusiasm that just oozes out of teenagers and leaks onto everyone who spends time with them. Any ideas?