Thoughtful Thursday: Inclement Weather

Graphic includes a blue circle with a lightbulb on the right side of the circle. The circle includes the title, "Thoughtful Thursday," with additional text, "www.musictherapyworks.com" and "Thursday thoughts and musings."
Today was supposed to be an inservice day at work, but Mother Nature has cooperated with me and what I want to happen, so I am at home, watching the snow fall and thinking about various and sundry things.

It is time for some introspection - after all, it is almost the end of the year, and yesterday was the winter solstice where I am in the world. I will do more of this as we get closer to the start of 2023, but it feels like a good thing to think about this morning.

My 2022 included lots of pain medication, doctor's appointments, and physical therapy. I have learned more about my body - did you know that some people have an additional lumbar vertebra? Did you know that becomes important if you need to have shots in your spine? I know these things now. I spent about three months in the worse pain of my life, but I feel better on my medication and with my exercises (which I do not do the way I should...). 

Last night, I did not go to sleep as early as I usually do. I got up from a reclining position about 8ish and got some dinner, and I found myself in the throes of my medication side effects. The medications that I take for my back mess with my eyes a bit, and I was unable to get over the nystagmus. I had to hold onto the walls as I was walking to the kitchen to get my spaghetti soup. I don't take these medications during the day, and I was reminded that the dose that I take really does have an effect on me. I am thankful that I have access to these things as they have certainly helped my ability to move.

I have now been in my house for an entire year. At this time last year, I was supervising the last  boxes moving and cleaning of the old apartment. My mom and my sister were here for a green Christmas. They unpacked while I was at work. They bought furniture and things for the bathrooms and the walls and all sorts of things. It was an adventure. This year, we will be together on the other side of the country, but things have changed there, and it will be different. I'm not sure that it will be anything other than different. We are making new traditions as our family continues to change.

I welcomed three music therapy interns to my internship program during 2022. Interns 33, 34, and 35 have added so much to the program, and I am happy that they chose my internship to spend time in. At this point, intern 35 has about two more months to go (calendar time), and I do not have plans for any others to arrive...yet. I have an interview with a student in January, so who knows...

My jobs continue. I made a trickle of money from my TPT store, made absolutely no money through my Etsy listings, and continued working in my church job and my role with the Online Conference for Music Therapy. I have lots of ideas but no real impetus to follow through on the ideas. I am working on that, but there is an opportunity out there that I am waiting to see if it will come through... until I know about that, I will not make any new attempts at establishing routines.

My intern webinars were not really all that well attended, but I did connect with two music therapy students on Tuesday evenings. We talked quite a bit about how to do the work of a music therapy student and how to prepare to be an intern. I am thinking about shifting from webinars to on-demand courses in conjunction with an internship handbook. I still enjoy speaking to people via Zoom, but it seems less of a novelty now, so I guess I will wait to see what happens from now on. 

My word of the year was "explore." I set several quests for myself, and I made progress in my journey. I renewed my passport, and I am getting ready for a return to flying. I explored several different options for my future - learning more about retirement, working on different things to do, and making some important decisions.

I have selected my word of the year for 2023 - you can count on more of the same sort of idea, but that's fine. I like having some consistency to my focus for the year. We'll talk more about that later - I want to make some graphics and some collages and some quests for the new word...

I told you that I was thinking about lots of different things. It's time to close and start the day in an official manner, so see you tomorrow? Stay safe and warm. 

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