rambling thoughts from jen

Wow, yesterday was a whirlwind of clarinet. Mondays are my most packed lesson-teaching days. I had intended to get more of the little stuff out of the way such as putting a couple of bills in the mail, buying a few things I need to make the lava lamp work right, but as it was I was very busy with the lessons. Most of the kids are doing fine. I am more frustrated than they are because I don’t feel that our lessons are structured enough. I tend to jump from one idea to another and haven’t found a format that really works well enough to stick to. For awhile I used my palm pilot with the foldable palm keyboard but that got to be a hassle to remember to bring with me. Now I’m down to the basics: My clarinet and a notebook and a pen and pencil and a metronome when I’m at CPMS.

It’s a beautiful day out! We’re finally getting below 80! Wa-hoo!! Almost December and it finally feels like fall! Ok, forgive me about talking about the weather, but I had to get that plug in since I figured that not everybody reading this has to live in Austin and knows what beautiful weather we’re having. I can remember living in Chicago right after Dave and I got married when this kind of weather was cause to go have a picnic on the rocks by the lake and dip your feet in… and wear shorts! Now, back in Texas, it’s cause to go dig out your jacket!! I miss Chicago, but only in a dreamy-romantic kind of way. It was hell living there so soon out of college and having to find my first job without even knowing if I had passed my ExCET test and would qualify for teaching in Illinois with an inherited and old car (’84 Buick Riviera) and riding the “L” to work then walking 10 blocks in the bone chilling arctic weather! (Uphill both ways, I might add!*) I am contantly amazed at how God provided for us when our rent was more than my salary and when Dave wasn’t working and didn’t have a scholarship or even an assistantship! THAT was a miracle! Those days were the foundation of our marriage. Whew, sounds like I needed to get that out of my system, huh! Sorry ’bout that.

Anyhow, what was I saying about clarinets?

*just kidding