Here's to leaving 2009!

well, I think pretty much everyone I know is pretty happy 2009 is in the books.  I know of some who were married and had their first holiday season together, others who had a child in 2009, but even for all of them (and the rest of us, it appears) many are quite pleased to be heading out of this year.

For us, the loss of my mother-in-law Donna Applebee was a focused and intense blow for our entire family.  This holiday season has been rough on everyone as the cycle of "the first......" without her has been realized.
There have been a number of  financial problems, of one sort or another within our extended family as well, and the future holds hope that those will be tempered and hopefully resolved.  Little annoyances, like having a mysterious GFCI outlet problems in our kitchen, and then the hot water heater die on Christmas Eve are indicative of our year, and of many that we know. I think the loss of Donna has effected quite a number of things that we do and how we handle even the smallest of things.

All that said, we've had some truly wonderful events and experiences--our oldest daughter, Taylor, graduated high school in June, went off to college, and by all accounts (her overall demeanor being chief indicator, but including first semester GPA, success in becoming a Kappa Delta, etc, etc, etc)  she is doing very, very well.
Alex has tried out for and likely will be spending the summer marching with Kim's old corps, Spirit.  (well, for us it will always be Spirit of Atlanta), just got his first level black belt in taekwondo, made all county orchestra, and finally got his braces off!   Jessi is, as ever, our artist.  Lots of painting going on, project after project!  She made all-county chorus and was able to march in the high school band as an 8th grader this year--and loved it!  

Kim's dad, Chuck, is doing really pretty well overall, I think-revelling in all of his 8 grandkids this Christmas, and so on.  My dad, Albert, is doing quite well, too, as he continues to work through the onset of alzheimer's/dementia.  My mom, Sally, just had knee replacement surgery in November, and Dad has been the consummate nurse-maid for her.   Their friends Judy, Lou, Corny, Nancy and others have often been found helping/bringing/driving, etc., which has been great comfort for me, too.

So, overall, some losses--one very significant one, but many, many successes and great times.  We are blessed in many ways--

As you begin your new year of 2010, I hope you find hope, renewed energy and conviction to carry on with all that you do and love those you are with with renewed passion and vigor.

dwa

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

To all of my friends and family worldwide, I wish you the best as one calendar year winds down and another approaches.  I consider myself very fortunate to have ALL of you as friends--my life is enriched by knowing all of you.   May we all grow in friendship through the next year!    

Dennis

Personalities

I have been incredibly fortunate over the years to have had some truly wonderful students to work with.  I value the time I've had with each one of them--all of them taught me something, without fail.  The variety of personalities is always startling.  If you go by Myers-Briggs, there are 16 types--but I'm not convinced.  Sometimes, it seems there are two--those that work and those that don't.  Other times it feels like a minimum of 50.    Probably, that 16 is closer to it, but it's still fascinating to think about the versions I interact with on a daily basis.  As I work with a studio of 25+, it's easy to think there should be duplicates of types, that there would be significant similarities in many areas--and to some degree that is absolutely true.  Music majors often share some traits, and tuba or euphonium players often exhibit those, along with others.  Add on the idea of being a music education major, and you through in other commonalities.  But,  even within that relatively close spectrum, distinct roles will appear--with all of them being vital to the success of the program. 

Over the past few years, I've been incredibly fortunate to be able to work with two gentlemen that have gone through the music ed program and are now set to student teach in January.  These two came in together, albeit from very different backgrounds, and from the time they walked in filled very distinct and important roles in our studio.  Both work very hard at what they do.  I mean, it's incredible to see what they do.  (and I am in awe at times) 
One is "that guy"--you know, the one who is always there, always asking "what can I do" and always does whatever it is at an incredibly high rate of success.  He just takes on responsibility with aplomb, and is amazingly trustworthy, serious when needed, light hearted when needed, etc.  He developed into a very good performer over the years--took seriously the idea that he had pitch issues and spent a summer just plugging away and fixed the problems-- this young man filled an important role in this group.  
The other one is similarly motivated, but fills a different spot in the studio--quirky sense of humor; crazy good work ethic; great composer and arranger. He took playing in a different direction and competed well at conferences over the years. He will be there when needed, in a very absolute way.  Other students have marveled to me regarding his depth of knowledge about tuba/music/theory/whatever they have questions about.  He's a good guy, all around.
Now, this is not to say that there are not other persons in the studio that share traits, even closely with these two, nor is it to say that I haven't had other people like them in the studio in the past---not at all, but it's the idea that these two came in together, and in their own ways were had significant impact upon many of those they worked with, and are now leaving to go student teach that has me thinking about it.   I guess we all have our roles to play in making things work, but these two walked in already living their roles and were influential from the get-go.  They took part in all of it--Phi Mu Alpha, pep band, went to conferences, took on leadership roles, you name it.  And, as a result, we're all a bit better after being involved with them.

Dan & Mike:   Thank you.  You'll be missed.

opportunities......

Too often, I think, it's just too easy to sit back and be selfish. I sure am guilty of that--the old "I don't wanna" comes into play, and most often it has nothing to do with anything but just being selfish/lazy. In the spirit of my last post, as best I can, I'm trying to take those opportunities a bit more actively. While I didn't do much in the way of helping decorate yesterday (never fear, my time doing the outside is drawing nigh.......) I did take the opportunity to do something I haven't done in years. I played at a high school football game. In the stands. Freezing my butt off. (actually, feet!)

The football team at my son's h.s. has now gone undefeated in the regular season two straight seasons. They got to this point, state quarter-finals, last year on this same weekend, and were beaten. Typically, in NC, as far as I can tell, by the time the playoffs are around, pretty much no one marches a show at halftime, but just sits in the stands and honks forth mightily. Last year, there was discussion regarding the issues of folks missing/out-of-town, etc. from the band at that game, so I knew there would likely be similar issues this year. I know his band director pretty well, so I called and asked if he needed me and then could I play. Good thing I did, as there was only one other tubist there--luckily for me a strong player who could easily teach me the tunes as we went along. (by this time in the year, sheet music was long gone....) So, I had a great time, playing very near my son (a mellophonist extraordinaire) in the somewhat reduced Ragsdale band. He seemed genuinely pleased I was there, and the other students didn't seem to mind having a really old guy in their midst. We played. Loud. And had a good time. The team lost to the same team as last year at this point, but we cheered them on as best we could.

I learned several things in this adventure:

• Despite the cold, it's good not to be selfish and sit at home......
• I still can be taught a tune by rote and pretty much get it in 30-ish seconds........
• I really do, in fact, need a wider diameter mouthpiece--I tried a "beater" when I showed up to the school (one of mine, thank you very much) and just couldn't make it work like it needed to....luckily I had one of my better ones in the car.
• I really don't like Yamaha convertible tubas (or probably any convertible, actually) They are awkward and just too easy to have issues with. I'm not convinced against the newer products being used by the corps, necessarily, but while I've been not a fan of the older convertible versions---give me a sousaphone any day of the week, please!

We should all be so lucky to be able to jump in with our kids' activities like that--I should've been doing more over the years (not just this type thing, mind you) and will try to keep my eyes open for more opportunities with all three of my children.

trying to get going, again.

I'm going to try my best to be a more regular blogger....we'll see how this goes!
I'm currently having a great time just being with my family. Often we get too wrapped up in all that goes on, and just forget to enjoy who we're with. This being the day after Thanksgiving, I've seen quite a few "what I'm thankful for" kinds of things of late, and have been known to publish such things myself.
Since my oldest daughter is off at college (home now, but only briefly) I have come to understand the concepts of not wasting time being disgruntled as much around friends and family and making sure that I don't lose as many opportunities. Don't get me wrong here, my daughter and I have a great relationship (at least I think so!) and we didn't bicker much as she was growing up--I just want to be sure to make the most I can with the rest of my immediate family. And yes, I do realize that there will be times of unrest, etc. That just is a part of it. I just am trying not to bring as much baggage home as I feel I once did.