His and Hers and a Nice Long Break

Congrats to Mary on her week at Minnesota All-State Orchestra camp. She had a great week. There were like-minded kids, long rehearsals and sore chops. She got to play the first clarinet part on Prokofiev V. There were many exposed solos and she was super excited and challenged. Bill and I had to miss the concert on Saturday, because it was my own studio recital at the cabin. Calvin was able to attend and made a video for us. We will get to see the concert when the orchestra meets again in February and they get to perform at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. She seemed so high from the whole week. To me it was a reminder that when things are right, it’s easy. I didn’t say it isn’t a lot of work, but it’s the right kind of work and when you are with equally yoked kids, friendship comes naturally. She is definitely more focused on clarinet than on piano these days, and I’m fine with that. She is a lovely pianist and will keep her foot in the studio door, but she plans to continue woodwinds in college and that is where her heart is. I’m thankful that I married a woodwind guy who can help her. Bill keeps her horns tuned up, albeit with extra stops at Tenor Madness in Waterloo, and he keeps her in reeds. I don’t know from reeds. She starts her junior year at Eastview next week. We are hoping for as normal a year as possible. She is the clarinet section leader for the Eastview Marching Band and that’s keeping her busy and outside. I can’t wait to see the show!

We got the boy back to school. I actually had two trips to Iowa in four days. One for a family funeral. I was reminded of the bittersweet Lyle Lovett lyrics, ”I went to a funeral, and lord it made me happy.” It was good to be with family. I hadn’t seen some of these folks since my dad died in 2009. Why does someone have to die to really get us all together? We lost my cousin Jill way too soon. The impact crater on the Stephens’ clan will be enormous. The Stephens folks? They are just good people. Nice people. I love them. Aunts and uncles and cousins and cousins kids. All of them.

Back to the kid. . . Bill and I had to take him back to Iowa City without Mary. She had already missed too much EVMB time while she was at camp. We did what we call the strategic hit. Down to Iowa, have lovely dinner with my mom, my sister, her fiancé Ray, and his daughter Sarah. Toast to their engagement. Go to bed and wake up and get the U-haul and move the stuff from my dad’s shop to Calvin’s rental house. One of Calvin’s roommates helped, so I didn’t even have to carry a sofa up the stairs. As Jonah and Calvin were carrying the IKEA desk down the narrow stairs to Calvin’s basement room, I heard the roommate tell Calvin to move his hands to the inside of the desk to carry it, to protect his fingers. Having the roommate concerned about Calvin not crushing his hand between the desk and the brick wall completely moved me to tears. Sniff. Sniff. Choke. That’s all you need sometimes. Just a little. There was time for lunch downtown Iowa City at the Dandy Lion. Then Bill and I were on the road. We dropped the U-Haul and stopped in Waterloo to tweak the clarinet and it was all too fast for me to even really cry. Until, we got the Minnesota border, where I pulled out my bullet journal to plan meals for the week. I realized there was no food to buy or cook for Calvin. Whaaaa. But, it does get easier. A lot easier. And it helps that he has great roommates and a great house and he’s looking forward to a great year of piano and math. He is in the right place at the right time.

Me? I’ve been on a break the last two weeks. There were some end of the summer graduation recitals and the two trips to Iowa. Now? I’m just here. Our house is having it’s twenty year face lift. There will be a lot of little and big projects happening in the next few months. I’m pretty excited. Taking care of my home and studio is important to me. Now is the time to take care of this home, so that it can continue to bless us and our guests. I’ll keep you posted on the progress. I still have some time off. I’ll plan my studio year, and take care of Mary’s back to school tasks and do what I can in the garden. Breaks are important. Really important. I’m thankful I can take this time to renew my energy and do some creative endeavors to prepare for the new school year. See you soon!