music, therapy, and me

This is a politics-focused post. If you are not someone who is disgusted by the things happening in the United States right now, then please skip reading this post. I cannot stay silent. It is only day 77 of this governmental regime, and I am already exhausted of all the ups and downs that are happening around us all. I feel paralyzed between the constant calls for actions that are not what I feel I can do and the feelings of guilt and shame that come with inaction. There are so many feelings that happen that I try my best to find what I can do while still remaining true to myself. I am someone who has a job that is school-based, special education service, and funded through categorical aid offered due to the types of clients who attend school at my facility. While no one has come out and said anything about security, there is a constant storm happening in the distance that threatens the last year of my school-based job. I am constantly waiting for someone to call me into their office ...

I subscribe to Dan Rather's Steady newsletter - the free version - because I respect that man as one of the voices of my childhood. Mr. Rather replaced Walter Cronkite as the anchor of CBS news when I was a kid. My parents were diehard CBS news watchers because of Mr. Cronkite, and Mr. Rather became the new voice for a long time before my parents defected to NBC news and Tom Brokaw. Since I grew up with several voices in the news world, I have found myself gravitating back to those voices to help me make sense of the world right now. On Sundays, Mr. Rather takes a break from writing about politics and the state of the world to write about songs that he finds memorable. I like that, and I enjoy reading his words about those songs. I think I might start doing the same sort of thing on my blog - writing a bit about specific songs and why they are important to me. Now, I just have to find the songs... I was listening to songs that my clients were sharing this week, and I realized that ...

It is Saturday after a pretty appointment and phone call filled week. I do not have any appointments for the next week, so I am going to do some focusing on the things that I need to do for myself. I am getting a small tax refund this year for the first time in ages. It not only covers the fee for getting my taxes done but also gives me a little bit of mad money to figure out. I might get some shrimp to celebrate... hmm. The best thing about found money is that it offers some options for impulsiveness. This tax refund is out of my regular budget, so I do not have to save it. I will probably use the money to do something maintenance-minded in my home, but I get to consider how I could possibly spend the little bit extra money that will arrive in my bank account between 2 and 10 weeks from now. The options are pretty exhilarating when you think about it. I could spend the money on a (very) short trip somewhere. I could buy more books (don't need them). I could buy a pretty ring to we...

I am going to write this blog for one hour, starting now, and try to make something that has relevance for all of my designators in the title of this blog - music, therapy, and me. This is not always an easy task. There are times when the music takes over, others when therapy is foremost on my mind, and I am usually prone to talking about me - one of my favorite topics. So, let's talk about music, therapy, and me this morning. We will get the "me" part over with. I am still tired, very frustrated with a particular client who has decided to target aggression towards me, and happy that today is Thursday rather than yesterday. I wish I had some more stuff to get me energized, but tired seems to be my default lately. I'm going to blame my changing hormones for all of this exhaustion. I am currently feeling inundated by a plethora of phone calls from all sorts of people wanting to give me things or sell me something or to set up appointments. Some of these people know that...

Welcome to my corner of the world where it is currently storming. The thunder and lightning is going along with a steady rain. The winds haven't kicked up yet, but it will be a windy day as well as a storm-ridden time, and I am feeling restless. I had one client who cried throughout music therapy yesterday. We don't know why, but the client was presenting with a positive affect until entering the music therapy room when the client started to wail. This client does not do this often, so it was a mystery to us all. The client is non-speaking, so trying to figure it all out was difficult. I always want to change a sad mood into a happier mood, but there are times when we just need to wallow. Have you ever seen the episode of The Middle where Frankie is trying to have a good cry? Everything in her life interferes with her attempts to cry out everything that is happening in her body. I have days like that - the only thing that helps me release emotion, hormones, stress, and grief is...

I attended an online training about self-employment taxes as a musician last night. I found it a really good training as it explained things like self-employment tax, quarterly tax payments, and the difference between a hobby and a business. Basically, what I am doing right now is a hobby rather than a business. I am going to change this. Now, I am going to do something that I rarely do - recommend someone to you. If you are someone like me - someone who has NO idea what to do as far as taxes are concerned, then I recommend - Hannah Cole . Her website, sunlighttax.com , is a place where most of the questions can find answers. I have not had the opportunity to delve into all of the resources that Hannah offers, but the webinar that she gave last night was concise, clear, and important to me and my understanding of taxes as a creative professional. Check out her blog for more information about all sorts of things! One of the things that I am thinking about is how I want to pivot from hav...