music, therapy, and me

It is time to finish up my holiday plans, print out the last little things for my Mom, and finish the laundry and the dishes. I have some routine car maintenance happening later this morning, so there are things to get going. I need to get the car washed (it is FILTHY!) before I take it to the car shop, so I have to get going here. Before I do all of that, though, I need to print out some digital files that I found for my mother's enjoyment. She is currently really into making Barbie sized miniatures, so I found some files that will help her do that. My sister just rolls her eyes when Mom gets started, but I keep reminding Sis that it could be worse and that Mom's habit is not that bad as far as things go. It is a messy hobby, though, and Mom hasn't been able to get rid of her other hobby materials, so things do pile up. As they do around here. Wonder where I get it from? I don't. I have to make different sized pages in order to get these things at the appropriate size ...

My Niec-at So, my sister reads my blog and sent me her ideas about what my themes should be for each day of the week. I got a text last night (after I was asleep) about what she wants to see as my themes. Here it is - Maker Monday - Tune In Tuesday - Website Wednesday - Thinking Thursday - Fact or Fiction Friday I am still navigating the ideas for each of these themes, but I will start some of them. Since today is Tuesday, let's investigate a bit more about what Tune In Tuesday could be about. It could be about music, music videos, musicians, therapists, or educators that are part of my life or that I've noticed. I'm not sure I could sustain that for long. It could be something about things to pay attention to as a therapist.  I just don't know. I am kinda dithering these days. I have little to no focus for anything other than medical appointments and reading books. I want to do more, but I just can't get going on any project. I have one more step to go through befo...

My mother is currently WAY into making miniatures. I mean, this techno-phobe, almost octogenarian is watching YouTube videos and hunkering down with her bits and bobs and is making things for a currently fictional Barbie house. She is making plans for us to work on making some rooms for the Barbies that she is collecting. So, why am I putting this on my blog? My mother is the QUEEN of making things out of other types of things. She has always done this and always will. She is having so much fun making things, and she will continue to make these things until she is finished. That's how Mom goes - full-out until she is done. Her latest craze has been making plants for Barbie out of tape, markers, twist ties, and bottle lids. That's right. She has made some house plants for Barbie's soon-to-be-made Dream House. My mother is my original Thrifty Therapist. She is an Occupational Therapist (retired) and has always been crafty as well as artsy. We used almost everything over again...

Please excuse me as I deviate from my usual Sunday post to talk about today, and its significance to my family. This is my mother's birthday. It is also the day that my father died, three years ago. This day is hard to navigate because while Dad died on this date, it is also a day for celebrating my Mother. It is hard to do both. As a result, I try to mark the anniversary of my Dad's death the day before rather than on today's date. This year, I am reminded of my parents' mortality more than I have been in the last two years. My mom got sick and had to be in the hospital for five days just recently. We didn't know what was going on, and it was pretty scary. We were able to rule out lots of things - not a heart condition, not the gallbladder, things like that - but it took a long time to figure out what was going on. It turns out that it was a reaction to the medication her cardiologist prescribed. She is now off that medication and seeing all sorts of new doctors to...

It is officially 2024, and I am in a different state than the one I anticipated I would be in. I am still at home with the cat on the bed curled up next to me. I slept through the transition to the new year - much like I usually do - and woke up at 2:40 am - much like I usually do - to take a look at the new year. It is now 3:20 am, and I am very much awake and ready to get this new year going! Our new year is starting with a bit of uncertainty, but less than we had just a bit ago. My mother has received an official diagnosis after lots and lots of blood work, tests of various kinds, and food deprivation. It seems that she is avoiding surgery right now (thank goodness) and will be doing some antibiotics to fully recover. This is better than the outlook that we had yesterday morning when things were less clear to us all. So, our New Year has started with a parent in the hospital but a parent who is getting better. Hopefully this same parent will remember that she doesn't like being ...

Hello, friends. Welcome to my end of the year post - the one where I usually reveal several things and spend time ruminating on various quests and goals that I have established. Today, however, may not include some of that information because I am currently figuring out lots of stuff and am not sure if I am coming or going. My mom has acute pancreatitis and is in the hospital. I have extended my trip an additional two days so I can be around for support. My sister is helping Mom out the way she always does because she is close by, and I am glad that I can be here until Tuesday. My mom keeps telling me to "have some fun" while I am here, but that is difficult to do when waiting for doctors and tests and information. My sister and I went to the hospital yesterday to wait through a procedure and then waited with Mom to hear about another procedure that will be happening today. At this point, we are not expecting surgery, but we might be going through that if the procedure today ...

For most people, seeing the title of this post, the mind goes immediately to the situation that happened in our government on January 6th, but for my family, this is the anniversary of my Dad's death - on my Mom's birthday. We are forever reminded of these things. It is difficult to figure out how to celebrate one very important person on the same day when we lost the other important person. We try to do our best to honor everyone on January 7th. This year, my mother's birthday gift is sitting on my kitchen floor where my suitcase is awaiting a trip. If I had been able to get home, she would have her gift. She will get it in March along with my sister's birthday gifts and all the Christmas gifts. I just booked that flight - let's see if it actually happens when it is supposed to... My focus for this day has to be a look forward rather than a look back. I know my Dad wouldn't want us to wallow in sackcloth and ashes. He died almost the way he wanted, and I know t...

My sister (who now reads my blog, apparently) is my favorite second grade teacher. Just wanted to say that up front. I am totally biased about who is Teacher of the Year, every year, because she is my sister and I've known her all her life. There you go. Now, today's post is inspired by my sister and by the countless numbers of classroom teachers who are currently working on making their classrooms into engaging and comfortable places for students. Some classrooms include complex themes, lots of different elements to go together, and countless dollars of teacher money spent on things that teachers feel are needed in order to promote a sense of love and comfort and engagement. There is lots of controversy in the teacher world between the decorators and the non-decorators about whether this type of environment is necessary, but I know many who just feel better in a coordinated environment. My sister is one of the thematic teachers. She has an overarching theme for her classroom e...

WARNING: This is not a complete idea or therapeutic musical experience...yet. I am working on it, so here is a glimpse into my process of putting together a TME from the very beginning...a very good place to start... Idea sparked by my sister, a second grade (sometimes first grade) teacher who teaches computer coding to her students and from materials sent by Music Therapy Mailings (I think last month, but it may have been the month before that). I have done TMEs like this in the past, but I have never really thought about it in terms of coding before. Basic ideas of coding - if you are interested in learning more about what coding is, google it! There are TONS of resources and tips and exercises - skill development in the areas of executive skill function and planning to see if things will work the way they need to work. In the music therapy room, we are going to use instruments to indicate directions and will be guiding a human through a predetermined pattern in real life. B...

I'm thinking about retirement. Let me start this conversation by saying that my mother and father recently retired, and their new lives are looking really good to me right now. (This is a side effect of visiting - I actually get to witness what is happening rather than just hearing about it.) My sister has decided that We (notice the use of the Royal We) will be retiring in 9 years when she is eligible to take her pensions and run from her elementary school job. In addition, I will be retiring then as well, and We will travel (again, that Royal We!). I'm telling you. This idea is not hard to contemplate at all. My father's twin, my Aunt, is having to retire this year. She tried retiring last year, but ended up driving herself crazy with inactivity and went back to teaching high school math this year, but it is past time for her to retire and do other things. In direct contrast to my parents (who are finding retirement really enjoyable), she is dreading this transition...

One of the things that I like to do is to use things that I learned a long time ago and then discover the therapeutic benefit contained within. This is a hold-over from being raised by an Occupational Therapist. My sister gets a bit disgruntled every once in a while when she realizes that most of the "fun" we had growing up actually had a therapeutic motivation. Then she laughs and uses the same "fun" things with her second graders. Lummi stick play is something that we learned in Girl Scouts, and the idea has so many therapeutic elements that it is a natural for a therapeutic music experience (TME). Don't let the fact that it is labeled a "traditional children's game" fool you. You can use these stick patterns and this TME with many different people (with some adaptations, of course. Use your music therapy-trained brain to come up with tweaks that will make this work for your clients). Enjoy!! By the way, if you are interested, we have a quart...