music, therapy, and me

It is the first day after Spring Break, and I have torn myself away from my bed and to the computer. I will be taking a shower here in a bit before heading to work, stopping to get gasoline on the way. I will see five groups of students and one individual before doing bus duty and then returning here to collapse into my bed. My knees are still hurting after kneeling on the floor to do behavior management training and CPR during the professional development day that we had just before we left for break. This means that I will not be moving much until my knees are no longer hurting. The first day after a break is usually pretty smooth because students are glad to be back. The second day after a break is usually pretty rough because none of us want to be back. I am hoping that today goes smoothly because I have lots that I need to get done in between session times. They have hired my successor, so I need to get my things out of the storage space as soon as possible. I have made a good sta...

It is the last day that I can sleep in for about two months. Spring Break is over as of this evening, so I will be returning to my work routine for three months and a week more before I will retire from this job and start my next music therapy iteration. I have had a busy week of appointments and spending money like I have it. My car is aligned and the brake fluid has been replaced. I have my taxes submitted and refunds on the way. I am feeling confident in my financial situation, and I have plans swirling around in my head for what comes next. I took some time to play with paper and made a small book. It has been a pretty good break. I also missed a meeting that I was supposed to run, so there is that.  Yesterday, I had a peer supervision meeting, constructed some shelves for the library room, and finished a book by Mercedes Lackey. I made a big breakfast and had a pizza bowl for dinner. I also ordered new shoes, new shopping bags, and some more shelves. I will be going grocery sh...

Oh, no, here I go again, trying to find something new to keep my brain going and not atrophying from lack of use. As the reality of moving from full-time employment to something else entirely is getting closer to actually happening (lots of discussions with different people about this topic this week and more to come). I alternate between panic and excitement, anticipation and absolute terror, and all the other emotions as I think about what will happen on July 1. Meanwhile, I still have three months and a week to go before this becomes a reality. In the meantime, I am getting ready to release a new thing via my website (ugh, the website needs SO much work - put it on the list!). For a long time, I have wanted to put together a subscription box - themed or goal-based - for music therapists. About the time I wanted to start this up, I found a company who was doing just that, so I did not pursue the idea further and just subscribed to Music Therapy Mailings. They have since discontinued ...

I have not written much lately. No reasons why, just not really in the mood to sit and write about music, therapy, or me in the past week or so. What I have been doing instead is reading books - all sorts of mindless books that just keep my brain occupied but do not really add too much to my knowledge. I will go to the library today because I am at the end of my most recent book. It is a good time to introduce new reading materials into my environment. Lately, I have been watching lots of book journaling content creators. I am not interested in making my own book journal (too much like the book reports that I hated all through school), but I enjoy watching people decorate theirs. I am also making some book journals, but I will not be using them. I find the book journal videos to be simultaneously pretty and ridiculous, but I am drawn to them over and over again. I wonder if I would be more inclined to read music therapy journal articles or texts if I was more into book journaling - mak...

I missed a meeting yesterday, and that is the worst thing I can do for my well-being and peace of mind. I hate when that happens. I hate it when my brain just forgets things and don't do what needs to be done when it needs to be done. What a great way to start off this break! I have two appointments today - one to get the dishwasher fixed (hopefully it will actually get fixed today) and one for my medical health. I am just trying my best to get from one thing to the next this week. It won't be an actual break away from obligations. Tomorrow's appointment is with my financial advisor - I have to figure out how I am going to survive come July.  Argh. I am frustrated by myself and my lack of remembering the meeting that I had scheduled.

I dragged my body out of bed this morning at 4:15 am because it has to be done. I have to get into a routine of getting up and getting going during these early morning hours for this week before a week where I do not have to be up this early. I think that this is cruel and unusual punishment. In addition, this is a week with a 12-hour day in it, so that means late night medication, medication side effects, and late arrival at work for a kid-day the next day. There is so much that is wrong with this week, but it all starts with the time change. I woke up with an actual aural alarm this morning. This is unusual for me. Music in my environment tends to be startling, so I use a light to help me get up. I am usually awake before the light turns on, but not always. The change in the light environment helps me wake up. I think my father is responsible for this. He used to tell me it was time to get up by turning on my bedroom light when I was younger. As much as I pleaded that he turn on the ...