Thoughtful Thursday: All Week...

All week, I have been getting some flashes of inspiration on things to write about on this blog, but I have NOT been writing them down, so here it is, writing time, and I have no guidance at all. It is pretty frustrating to realize that I need to write down every thought that comes into my head or they just flit on by.

Today is my late day, so I am sitting here after my late rising time, trying to convince myself that I have something to say... hmm.

This has not been an easy week in the areas surrounding my music therapy room. So far, my sessions have been pretty smooth with the exception of one kid chasing another one around, some passive staff members who spend more time looking at their watches than at students, and my own exhaustion. It is good to be back in the role of "therapist" again.

The rest of the school is pretty scattered these days. There are many situations going on that have not touched my small program - yet. I hate it when our students have significant issues, and we are unable to fix those issues. Right now, we have a cumulative effect going on - the "leaders" are stirring up the "lieutenants" and things are just a mess. I am hoping to get through today's session with many of the "leaders" without incident, but I am not counting on it.

It is time for my mantra/prayer. During my repetition of this mantra/prayer, I try my best to focus on wanting calm in chaos for myself. It does absolutely no good when I am unable to keep myself calm in the middle of crises. So, my mantra/prayer helps me to focus on calm.

I am working through my finger exercises every day. My finger is swollen again because I am making it work in ways it hasn't worked for months and months. It hurts all the time but that hasn't changed at all. 

I figured out a way to get a specific situation rectified for the OCMT today, and sent out information to all the people I needed to contact. I feel accomplished at the moment because I found a way to do something I needed to do.

I have five groups to run between now and the end of Friday. I have two individuals in that same time frame. Seven sessions in the next two days. That is not the schedule that I want, but that is the schedule that I have to live with at the moment. I am looking forward to some time in my storage room, rearranging materials and working on the task boxes that I have not touched for a long time.

Time to get going. See you tomorrow...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sing A Song Sunday - The Time Change Song (Fall)

It's the time of year where most of us here in the states get to fall back one hour. This is a wonderful time as it gives us a chance to get an extra hour of sleep and to reset our internal clocks to be in sync with the earth's rotation a bit more than we are during the summer. I love this time of year and really dread moving to Daylight Savings in the Spring. Today' song is directed towards choir members and can be found here . There is also a spring version, and I'm sure I'll post a link to that one next year when we [shudder] spring forward yet again... Here is a YouTube video of a guy singing the song. I'm so very sorry for the pitch, but at least he's out there trying his best. Yipes. Anyway, the song itself is based on a hymn composed in 1907 by John Hughes. The words are by Dean McIntyre and were written in 1995. I find the song a bit tongue-in-cheek, but they give me a giggle every time I read them, so enjoy!! Sorry for the lack of diagram
Read more

Being An Internship Director: Why I Do Very Little Active Recruitment

Image
I am not someone who participates in every single internship fair or makes ads for my internship program to put on social media. I do not feel an obligation to anyone to fill all of the openings that I have every year. I operate on a "if you build it, they will come" type of viewpoint. I figure that the interns who are meant to be with me will find me. As a result, I do very little active recruitment. I will be part of the AMTAS Virtual Internship Fair this upcoming Sunday. I am not really expecting too many applications coming from this meeting, but I am interested in how it is going to be run. I decided to sign up because I want to see what others are doing and offering out there. So, this Sunday, I will be sitting in front of my computer, listening to what others share about their internships. One of the things that I like about being a National Roster Internship Director is that I have the ability to decide how many interns and when those interns work with me. I occasiona
Read more

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