Thankful for Things

I have tried and tried to write blog posts lately and have found that most of my posts end up in rants. Now, I hate it when I can only see the negative sides of things, so this post is a Thankful post - the rules? I have to see positive sides of every situation going on. Here goes...

  1. I have a job that challenges me on a daily basis.
  2.  I have health insurance that pays for most of my medical care, even when they seem to want more and more money from me...
  3. My pet, Bella, purrs when I get home in the afternoon.
  4. My family loves me.
  5. I love my family.
  6. I have friends and acquaintances all over the world who stay involved in my life in a variety of ways.
  7. I am a strong, independent woman.
  8. My health is improving day by day, but I still need to remember that I am recovering from surgery and to rest when needed.
  9. There is much in my life to be thankful for, and I will attempt to remember this fact in every moment.
 
Today, I am going to try some new session formats with my students - some familiar to me, some brand new. I am going into my old room for a meeting (there will be some mourning involved there since the room is no longer mine and never will be again). I have my oil pan to start conceptualizing into a reality in the therapy session (see my post earlier this week for more details about this project!). Tomorrow will be the first repeated day of the school year, so I should be able to start getting into a routine here pretty quickly. I think I am starting to learn my schedule pretty well...I no longer feel like I have no idea where to go next! Progress!! Huzzah!
 
It is now time to get dressed and make my lunch for today. Then, off into the world for new adventures! Look out, world!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear AMTA

Dear American Music Therapy Association: I am debating long and hard about remaining in this relationship. I have been in this relationship since college, and this is not a decision that I am taking lightly or without great cost.  I am not happy with what you are bringing to this relationship. Now, I have been a selfish partner over the past several years - mainly because I am not feeling like we share a common mission anymore. It is easy for me to place the blame on you, but I know that this is not all on me. I have tried to be invested in communication and support and understanding, but everyone comes to a time where enough is enough. I am trying very hard to decide if the benefits that you provide to me are worth the feelings that I have about where I think you and I are going. I am not sure that our destination is the same anymore, and this makes me sad. To be completely honest, I am only in this relationship these days for the music therapy interns. I don't think that is a hea...
Read more

Songwriting Sunday: Repetition

Image
One of the things that I find to be helpful with my client population (children, adolescents, and young adults with dual diagnoses) is repetition of phrases, lyrics, and music. As a result of 30+ years of working with this population in various iterations, I have found that my clients respond the most to songs with three repeated phrases to prime their responses with a different phrase to communicate the important part of the experience. DISCLAIMER: This is not a definite way to write music for clinical interactions. This is what seems to work well with my particular group of human beings. Don't go to your supervisors and tell them that I told you that this is the ONLY way to write music - It is NOT! You have to find what works for your clients and for their clinical goals. Since my clients respond well to this type of song, I tend to write songs in this format more than any other. What I have found is that my clients remember these songs more than the ones that I do in different f...
Read more

Being An Internship Director: On Hiatus

Image
It has been long enough since I have had an intern that I am seriously feeling like I have little to say on the subject. At the same time, I am currently writing Chapter 5 of my general internship handbook, so I am able to write about being an intern and what types of things to think about during this important time in our professional development. It is a strange place to be in, and it is one that is a bit challenging for me. Right now, I have had three vacant internship positions since the beginning of the calendar year. I will have a vacant position next month and that will be an entire year of rejected offers. In the past nine months, I have offered positions to three applicants who have declined. It is interesting how people complain that there aren't enough internship programs, but programs like mine are empty. I guess there aren't enough internship programs that pay large stipends (which mine cannot) out there. I get it. It is interesting to me how we have moved from an ...
Read more