As parents, we make a lot of calculated decisions- sometimes from day one- Breastmilk or bottle, cloth or disposable diapers, public, private, or homeschool. Music lessons or dance.
Then, the very next moment, we find ourselves making fly by the seat of our pants decisions- Handling that first tantrum at the grocery store, what's for lunch, or what to do when your baby strikes a fever for the first time.
Read MoreMy daughter’s Music Rhapsody class sings the same “Hello Tidy-Oh” welcome song every week, and every week (thus far), she responds with the same adorable, bashful smile. And each time, I can’t help but look at her rosy little cheeks and grin, soaking up the innocent, pure joy of the moment.
Read MoreWake up, make some coffee, get all three children off to school while making sure your youngest gets to daycare on time. Go to work... Shoot! Forgot the coffee! Quick stop at Smokey Row, then work.
After a stressful day at work, you spend an hour or more feeling like a taxi cab driver as you whiz your three oldest from school to practice to tutoring sessions and sporting events with a hungry toddler in the backseat... Forgot to put dinner in the crockpot.Looks like all you have time for is Chick-Fil-A before zooming off to guitar lessons with your two oldest while your spouse gets the youngest kiddos ready for bed. Enter Passion Studios. Inevitably, your teacher asks with a smile, "So. How was practice this week?"
Read MoreWelcome to the year, 2022! How is it so far? Is it everything you expected and dreamed and hoped for? Have you kept your New Year’s Resolutions? Maybe you are a realist or a skeptic and have opted out of all the New Year’s hype this year.
Either way, believe it or not, that’s all I am going to say about the New Year here. Today, I want to talk about the rest of your life. What is music to you? Will it hold the same value for you in five years? Ten? Fifty?
Read MoreLast week, my brother, sent me a surprising text message in a group chat we have with our family: “Honest question. Does anyone want to go Christmas caroling this year?”
I’ll be honest with you, “Heck to the no!!” was the first thought that popped into my head after I read his message. Now don’t get me wrong. I am not a Grinch who despises Christmas and refuses to participate in holiday traditions. It is the caroling that I’m not particularly excited about. I guess there is something about singing to a bunch of strangers in the bone chilling December cold that gets my gut all tied up in knots. In fact, I get nervous just thinking about it!
How about you? Are you planning on coming a-caroling through the neighborhood this Christmas? Or does the mere thought of it make you shiver? Or maybe for you, caroling is an essential part of your family’s holiday tradition?