music, therapy, and me

I am exhausted, and this is the "it is almost the end of the school year, but not yet" type of exhaustion, not the "haven't been sleeping well" type. Most of this is due to one client at the moment. Everyone else seems to be doing what they usually do, but that one client... I have been doing this particular job for a very long time, and clients come and go at my facility on a regular basis. I have experienced many different types of people in my years at my job. The client type that I have the most difficulty engaging with is the type that feels that they have control over what everyone does around them. A peer cannot choose what to do because the client doesn't want to choose something. Now, I have nothing against someone deciding that they do not want to do something during my sessions. I champion personal choice in my sessions for my clients. If a client opts not to engage, that is fine with me as long as they are safe and say "no, thank you." ...

Yesterday was the first of four 12-hour days that we have on our school calendar this year. Just from the start of this post, I want you to know that I HATE 12-hour days at my job with a passion. They always mess with my routine and make me feel sick afterwards. Today is no exception. Last evening was Back to School Night. No one came to my room (that I know of - we had a LONG meeting yesterday, so there may have been someone who came by, but I wasn't there). In the 29 Back to School Nights that I have been at the facility, I might have had a dozen visitors in total. We have done special things before and now we are in an era of just be in your room (or in a meeting) and see if anyone stops by. Different administrators have demanded different things from us. The second of our 12-hour days will be a day off for me - I get to prepare for a medical procedure happening the next day. That is a conference day, and I do not usually participate in those days. My problem with 12-hour days i...

Sorry about not publishing my writing for the past couple of days. I have been hot and crabby and nothing that I have written has been something I want out in the world right now. I have entered panic mode about the state of my home and the upcoming visit from my family, but I am also stuck working in a room without ventilation, a broken air conditioner, and clients who are unable to regulate their temperatures. I leave my job everyday absolutely knackered and cannot bear to work when I get home. I have finished the first half of my week and am now entering the second half. This week, we have been doing centers - they get kids close to the floor where it is a little bit cooler, and it offers opportunity for independence and leisure skill development. We have three stations, and I have "must do" and "may do" things at some of the centers. We have a music symbol matching game and a stack of performer pictures to peruse at one center. The second center is a fine motor ...

For some reason, I didn't sleep much last night, so I am already a bit scatterbrained, but I am still going to post a TME Tuesday post since I took yesterday off from blogging. I am in a stage of relatively static creativity - as defined by me, this means that I am not as creative as I like to be, but I am still able to finish things up. This is when my ideas book comes in handy - the original creative process is already finished. All I have to do is transcribe things and finish the process of formalizing my songs or ideas, but when I am not feeling all that excited about writing something, I can dive into my ideas book to find some half-formed ideas to finish. Here are the things that I have recently found and placed into my book - a 12-bar blues closing song - It's time to go back to class...; a song about mandalas piggybacked to Lean On Me; When I Go To Work - an original song for the end of this month when I am gone on bereavement leave; A Garden of Manners - reinforcing th...

I am not a fan of summer. Never have been, probably never will be, ESPECIALLY as I live in a humid environment which wreaks havoc on my breathing. My mom likes to tell a story of me as a toddler. Mom asked if I wanted to take a walk (we lived in Temple, Texas at the time). I looked outside the window and said, "Nope, sun's out." I have never really been all that fond of summer. I am currently almost as medicated as I can possibly be for this humid environment. Allergy medications? Check. Inhaler? Check. Nebulizer? Not yet - can't nebulize and drive, so I have to wait until I get to work to do that medicating. Through it all, I am having to sing in a mask in a room that is not being well air conditioned (though the bathrooms and the closet [yep, THAT closet] are plenty cold. This has been an interesting week of music therapy with challenges that are pretty unique to me. Another music therapist would not have these same struggles - that's for sure. So, I am struggli...