When I first subscribed to Apple Music, I did it purely for work purposes. My students and clients were constantly asking to learn or listen to songs that I didn’t have in my iTunes, and I wasn’t a fan of pulling up the YouTube video as an alternative.
Raise your hand if you’re with me on this one. How could I not be grateful for a place that sells pretty much everything I could ever need (including a full Starbucks menu), AND is an exciting outing for my children?
As grateful as I am for this one-stop shopping mecca, I’m equally reluctant to step foot inside each time…only because I know I’m about to buy way more than I actually need at the moment.
I’ve been dipping my toe into the waters of meditation over the last couple of years, but this fall, I decided to finally take the plunge. I knew from practicing on a sporadic basis just how effective meditation can be, so when I had the opportunity to take a class, I went for it.
Up until this summer, I wasn’t home at dinnertime to eat with my family most nights. Since I taught lessons, led music therapy sessions, and taught classes in the afternoons and evenings, I missed out on meals with my family during the week. Zach either made the kids dinner at home or took them to his parents’ house to eat, and by the time I got home, we had to start the bedtime routine.
The older my children got, the harder it was to miss out on dinner with them — especially after being apart all day long. That was a part of my decision to stop teaching lessons at the end of May, and I’ve since adjusted my schedule to make sure I’m home every night for dinner together.
I have a long history with this neighborhood. I didn’t grow up in it, but several of my childhood and high school friends did, so I spent a lot of time at their houses. My mom and stepdad moved here when I was in graduate school. I spent the summer in between school years there, and then the following summer, Zach and I moved into our own house in a different neighborhood.
November always feels like such a magical month to me. We leave behind the sugar rush and spookiness of Halloween (while still embracing all things pumpkin) and officially make our way into the holiday season.
Everyone seems so much more friendly and happy during this time of the year, which to me, is the best part of the holidays. I love the spirit of Thanksgiving, and this year I want to get a jump start on celebrating right away.
When I set out to write a mash-up of songs about rain, I realized there were wayyy more than I could possibly include in a single song. So I chose the ones I thought would be most recognizable and singable by my little students and their families, and ended up with Shakin’ in the Rain.
Never did I ever think I would shell out almost $50 for a water bottle. Crazy talk, right!? BUT, I am not a water drinker, and that is not a good thing. I even ended up in the hospital during my last pregnancy due to dehydration. So while I’ve tried to do better ever since that scary event, I was still slacking.
The only way I knew for sure that I would actually drink the amount of water my body needs was to become financially invested. I had heard about the Hydro Flask on a podcast I love, and after that, I just kept spotting it everywhere. Obviously it was a sign — I was meant to have this water bottle!
It was my during my music therapy internship that I realized I would have to get over my grudge against Halloween. If I wanted to work with kids, I needed to just accept October 31st as a day that is, to them, right up there with Christmas.
Even as a child, I wasn’t a fan of Halloween. I didn’t like the creepy decorations, the pressure to choose a costume, or going door-to-door asking for candy (although I didn’t mind eating it later). But as an adult, I put my personal feelings aside and wrote numerous songs devoted to Halloween.
Over the last 10 years, I’ve sung about orange and black, all the candy we’ll eat, and jack-o-lanterns with conviction, and I bet none of my students ever guessed that I didn’t love Halloween just as much as they did.
For as long as I can remember, that has been my default setting. But in 2017, a switch was flipped in my brain, and I decided I didn’t want to live in go-mode anymore.
It has taken time to adjust to the idea and practice of living at a slower pace, and I’m still not all the way there yet. It was easier during the summer, when I had a built-in excuse to slow down; now that we are in the throes of fall, it feels like I should be back to life at warp speed like everyone else.
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