music, therapy, and me

Inspiration comes from strange places. I got inspired by cat videos and a song came out. It is always interesting to trace the origins of songs, and mine usually come from two sources - silly things or client goals. This one came from silly cat videos and is called "Naughty, Naughty Kitty Cat." I paired it with a "Match the Ornament" game during one of my groups. Before the start of my music therapy day, I tend to spend about 15 minutes tuning my guitar and engaging in some random strumming. I think about the day that is ahead, and I either play songs that I know really well or I settle into a chord progression and just start to make music. Usually, good or fun songs emerge right before a group enters the room. Now, I've been doing this a long time, and I know that I will NOT remember a good song if I do not write it down. Since this is the case, I have post-it notes and a pencil in a drawer right next to my guitar stand. When inspiration strikes, I write down l...

This has been a roller coaster type of year, hasn't it? I remember all the people talking about how rotten 2019 was and how much they were looking forward to the start of the new year and the new decade and then, BLAM! Here cam e 2020! I am not making any sort of predictions that 2021 is going to be ANY better than 2020 was. I do not think that the virus will mysteriously go away based on an arbitrary time construct.sxdsxdsxdsxdsxdsxdsxdsxdsxdz (Bella's notes on my thoughts...) I believe that the vaccinations that are currently being approved and distributed will help us come to an end, but it will not be based on the turning of the planet around the sun. It will be based on people being responsible and patient. It will be based on the hard work of many individuals around the world. It fascinates me that this roller coaster life has been both on a macro and a micro scale this year. My 2019 culminated with gallbladder removal surgery and a concurrent car incident that required m...