music, therapy, and me

I think we have started a new tradition at my facility - YouTube Friday afternoons! We spent the last hour of our music therapy day watching 80's music videos (with some videos from other times - we HAD to finish up with the Muppets and Bohemian Rhapsody, of course!). It came about in a silly way, but an organic way, so I hope that we will continue this type of interaction and music sharing beyond these two interns. I love having two interns at the same time, and I really love having interns overlap with two different interns during their time with me. We have had many intern traditions over the years. There were the pens bought by senior interns for their junior interns. There have been chair upgrade ceremonies. We still have the anointing of the senior intern, but this has become my tradition rather than one that my interns share with one another. I had an intern wisdom notebook a long time ago, but that tradition died off - it was my fault completely. I may ask my next intern to...

I admit, I can be the person who just stares at strangers when out in public. I prefer it when I am outside and can watch others from behind my Dollar Tree sunglasses, but I am that person. I observe. I spent the morning at my local Firestone shop getting the tires rotated and the oil changed in my car. Then, I went to the Dollar Tree and shopped a bit. I had a chance to observe other human beings interacting with each other. I love the opportunity to watch people interact. Today, in the hour I spent with the folks at the tire store, I saw interactions that ranged from the familiar to the friendly. The front office folks were friendly to all of us, but there were definitely some folks that had more of a relationship formed with customer and staff. Those folks were greeted by name, joshed around with a bit, and greeted with a clap on the shoulder. The rest of us were greeted with a smile, a friendly greeting, and some light conversation about our cars. After my car was finished, I...

One of my increasingly many part-time jobs is that of church music director. I love the congregation I work for, and I am very appreciative of the pastor that I work for as well. I've been an employee of the church for many years and have watched things change and change and change. One of the things that I've noticed is that not many people sing in church anymore. The most amazing thing for me is that people I have been told sing solos in school and in bands stand there with their mouths firmly shut during hymns. It makes me wonder why. Now, I am a singer. Except for some time in preschool when I didn't sing in front of strange people (I cried instead), I have been a singer all of my life. I have loved singing in groups, singing solos, singing when no one was around to hear. When I am in a congregation of people singing hymns, I choose a line and sing it in my own octave (except when people start to turn around - then I go back to the Soprano part). I love the opportunit...

Conundrum... As funding for children with developmental and psychiatric concerns is changing in my state, the way these kids obtain treatment is dramatically shifting as well. This is leading to new challenges for the people who have the task of providing meaningful treatment experiences. I am one of those people. There is something interesting about living in a time when health care is changing rapidly, but there are MANY challenges as well. Let me explain what I'm thinking about here... For years, I have worked with kids who were with us for a significant period of time. I was able to establish a therapeutic relationship based on substantial observations and interactions. I was able to adjust my schedule to accommodate their needs, once those music therapy needs were identified. Now, a kid comes to us for about 90 days - we have had a complete change from that of developmental/intellectual disability to mental health funding, necessitating the changes in the facility. I f...

Last week, my facility had two snow days, and I worked both days. The first day, I put my watch on my wrist during my drive to work, but when I got to the music room, I discovered a bare wrist - no watch. I first thought that I had forgotten to put it on, but when I went back to the car, the watch was gone. I was confused by this, but figured that I had lost it for good. Tonight, I am getting ready for the next snow day by spending the night here in the music room. I was watching the guys use the snow plow to move the existing snow farther away from the parking lot to make room for the 9-24 inches (the actual number will probably fall between those two numbers, but the meteorologists haven't been able to agree on a total yet), and I happened to look at the bottom of one of the snow piles. Lo and behold, there was my watch! I went outside to get it and found that it had frozen at 6:07 - the time that I had arrived at the facility last Thursday. I guess I caught the edge on som...