Thoughtful Thursday: My Brain Hasn't Started Working Yet...

I am sitting here, at the computer, an hour later than usual, just not able to think about anything. I think this is my medication still in control, so I am taking a later start time this morning and trying to jump start my thinking process. This is not a pretty picture. My fingers are going all over the keyboard and even typing is difficult at the moment.

Today will be yet another interrupted day for us. We have the annual holiday dinner which is a fundraiser for one event that our students participate in later in the school year. I am on food duty this time, so I will have to find a chair to sit in because standing for long periods of time is not something I can physically do at the moment. So, we will be doing holiday dinner things in between music therapy groups today. This day is more about the staff members being busy than the students - most of the students will not be involved in this at all - but, the dinner will interrupt our regular schedule. After today, the only holiday hoopla that we have ahead of us is my Holiday Sing. We will be doing that on the last day of school at 1:15pm. After that, I only have one more day of training to go through before one day off, one Christmas Eve service, and then no work for an entire week!

I am ready to have a break, but I am not ready for Christmas. Anyone else??

So, music therapy things. After all, that's why this blog exists.

I am a music therapist who does not do much holiday hoopla in sessions. This is purposeful for several reasons. First, not all of my clients are Christian. Not all of my clients can state if they have any spiritual beliefs. I find that our Midwestern focus on Christmas and only Christmas is a bit jarring, even though I am someone who celebrates Christmas. I just want to make sure that the beliefs of all are respected, so I tend to go to no celebration rather than disregarding the beliefs of my clients who do not celebrate.

I have tons of things that I could be using for this season, but I do not. That is a personal choice. I do not keep my clients from requesting Christmas music, and I will play that music for them. If I know for certain that a client celebrates Christmas or another holiday during this season, then I will plan celebratory therapeutic music experiences for those clients. I just find that presuming that all clients celebrate Christmas because most of the people in our Midwestern town are Christian is not ethical. There you go.

When I first arrived at my facility, 26 years ago, I had to do a big holiday program on Sunday afternoon for my clients and their families. I asked for some information on what they wanted the program to be, and I got a video tape of the program the year before. After (I kid you not) 2 hours of watching the performance, they started the nativity portion of the program. Now, the students that I had then were different from the students that I have now, but 2 hours of performances is WAY too much for most kids to be able to sit through. Most adults cannot be in an auditorium for 2 straight hours without needing an intermission or bathroom break. I could not handle that video for any more time as someone who could pause it. So, I was on a quest.

My program took an hour. No nativity. Each class selected a song to present. Some classes sang, while others danced, while others played instruments or unwrapped presents (that turned out to be instruments). I ended up not having any school staff members to help because it was on a Sunday, so I changed up everything the next year. Over the years, this program has turned into the Holiday Sing.

Next Wednesday, we are going to meet in the gym, sit in a big circle, and sing. Classroom groups selected different songs to sing together, and we are just going to carol for ourselves. After we are done, everyone will head back to their classrooms for the end of the day festivities. It will be quick and easy. No solos. No performances. All we are going to do is sing together. Low stress, low mess, and little to no fuss.

My brain is waking up. I will be heading to work very soon. I may do some breakfast first. It is payday, so I can see what money is left over for the month to put into my trip fund and my savings. Hooray!

See you all tomorrow for systems in music therapy!!