When I look at the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas Break, I shudder, then cheerfully tie up my running shoes. I have for years. It’s a mad dash – all the normal things a person does in this time, but, like all musicians, also in one of the busiest months of the year. Everyone loves a choir in December, and you end up with a dozen or more performances in a couple of weeks. (One year, our family had 21 concerts in two weeks…)
I am cheerfully running, because I love the music I make and the people I make it with. I know, now, that I will get through to the other side, exhausted and ready for a long winter’s nap.
But this year is peculiar, because last year was silent. Everything was online, and I was busy with digital work, not concerts. My body and my mind are unconditioned for this sprint, and a part of me asks: do I want to keep this pace? Is there another way to do this, that gives more balance?
I don’t know…I’m still looking forward to all these musical opportunities, and I am not suggesting anything I would change. I just know that after a year off, the pace feels different.
(And this, once again, makes me offer grace and empathy to my students, who are also dealing with a familiar landscape that feels utterly new.