I stopped in to visit TWT this evening and was so rewarded by the posts I read.  I am humbled and thankful.

This week I accepted 3 musical challenges.  The first is the hardest – to accompany a semi-professional opera singer at a large event in Washington, DC this Saturday.  The music is challenging for my out-of-practice fingers.  I also notice that my stamina and concentration need some work, too!  Kind of like readers who haven’t read in a while.  It takes a while to connect.

The second challenge is to play the organ for a large church gathering on April 24.  Piano is my first instrument; organ is my 2nd language.  Kind of like our ESOL students, I’m not as fluent on the organ.

The third is to play for our school’s 5th grade chorus program in June.  I always love playing for children to sing and want them to have the best experience ever.

I’m thinking, why did I label these three events as challenges, rather than opportunities, or engagements, or performances? I think it is because I still feel that I might not measure up, so it is a challenge to be met. Then I thought some more and decided that I want to make these three musical moments joyful, just joyful. If I make a mistake, or if my pages get messed up, or if I lose my place, so be it. I want to let go of the baggage of expectation. I know there are no perfect performances, but there can be joyful moments. It’s about time I let myself have some.