For many of us, COVID-19 has upended our lives as we once knew them. It has disrupted our schedules, our plans, our work, our goals, our motivation…everything. It’s okay not to be okay right now.
I wrote this song just as much for grown-ups as I did for children. Whether you’re a parent figuring out how to balance parenting with working from home, a small business owner struggling to stay afloat, a teacher providing distance education, or anyone else who is having a hard time right now, this is my love letter to you.
My Word for 2017
I’ve spent the last 12 months doing my best to practice the three words my business partner Katey and I chose for 2016 — simplify, streamline, self-care. This past year has been all about eliminating the non-essentials, putting things on the back burner, and focusing on what matters most.
With that in mind, I didn’t set any hard and fast goals or choose any big projects to work on as I have in years past. I gave myself grace and permission to say no without guilt. It felt GOOD to care for myself, and I will definitely carry those words with me into the new year.
#AMTA16: Conference Recap (With Pictures!)
Another year, another national conference in the books. Now that I’m starting to settle back in to reality (which mostly means catching up on laundry), it’s time for my yearly recap of the conference experience from my perspective.
#AMTA16 Conference Week is Here!
November is an exciting month for us music therapists. Every year, we head to our national music therapy conference for several days of professional development, continuing education, and networking with colleagues from all over the country. It’s kind of like our version of Disney World, except with less kids and more guitars.
I attended my very first AMTA conference way back in 2009, and I haven’t missed one since. This year is special, though, because not only is it lucky number 8, but it’s also the first conference in 4 years when I haven’t either been pregnant or accompanied by a tiny baby. Look out, Sandusky, Ohio! ;)
The Definition of Success
It’s interesting to think about how my personal definition of success has changed and evolved over the years. In my early to mid twenties, just starting my career and becoming a newlywed, success meant a great job, a nice house, and enough disposable income to buy what I wanted and travel often.
All of that came fairly quickly and easily, which of course meant taking my definition of success to the next level. My late twenties were all about achieving freedom in my career, which I did by leaving my full-time job and becoming completely self-employed. Those few years were magical — I built a thriving business while working from home, we vacationed several times a year, and never had to worry about money.
And then we entered our thirties. Three days later, I had a baby, and everything changed.
The Life-Changing Magic of Putting a Pen to Paper
This time of year always hits like a ton of bricks. You know it’s coming, but there’s little more you can do to prepare than fill out all the forms that land in your hands, respond to all the emails, send out the information, and take a deep breath.
That has never been more true than this year, with a preschooler, a toddler starting part-time daycare, and a business undergoing some huge changes. I’ve spent these last few weeks making sure I’m covering all my bases where all of those things are concerned, so unfortunately the creative stuff has fallen to the wayside.
I was feeling pretty buried under ALL THE THNIGS this past weekend, despite my efforts to get it all into my calendar, Trello boards, and paper planner. So during naptime, I sat down with a journal and some pretty pens my business partner Katey had given me for my birthday. And I started writing.
A New Chapter Begins
Today was a big day. I called it D-Day in my latest podcast episode — the day Mia started daycare. After 15 months at home with my baby, today was the first weekday during which I wasn’t her primary caregiver.
I talked on the podcast all about the mixed feelings I’ve been experiencing related to this day: excitement, anticipation, sadness, guilt…you know, the usual emotions that most moms cycle through on a daily basis. I’ve been looking forward to and counting down until this day for months now, but when the time actually came, so did the tears.
Summertime Vibes
When I think back on Summer 2016, I will have lots of reasons to smile. I’ll remember how quickly it flew by, how hot it was, and how busy yet idle I felt, but mostly I will smile. So far, this has been the summer of…
Nominations, Recognition, and Gratitude
In August of 2014, Katey and I joined forces to form Music Therapy Connections, LLC. Little did we know that less than 2 years later, we’d be standing in front of 200 business owners, the governor of Illinois, and television cameras as nominees for our Chamber of Commerce’s “New and Emerging” Small Business Owners of the Year award.
The Songwriting Process, Blocks We Face, and How to Get Better
Anytime you have the opportunity to talk with a total rockstar in your professional field about one of your favorite topics, you take it. Dr. Andrew Knight is a professor of music therapy at Colorado State University, and someone I’ve looked up to since meeting him quite a few years ago at an AMTA national conference.
He interviewed me for the songwriting course he is teaching this summer, and graciously allowed me to share the interview here with you. We talk about how I approach songwriting, the blocks many music therapists face when it comes to writing and sharing their work, my actual process, and of course, the Songwriting Challenge.
Become a Better Songwriter 🎶 AND Earn CMTE Credit 🌟
One of the things I commonly hear from fellow music therapists is that they wish they were more skilled at songwriting. As someone who has written upwards of 300 songs for music therapy clients, classes, adult audiences, and otherwise, my response is always this: the more songs you write, the more skilled you become.
Prior to writing my first song, I didn’t have any specialized training. I wasn’t confident in my abilities at all, but I just kept writing. Each song became a little easier, and with time I gained the confidence to call myself a songwriter.