Remembering a summer past sans electricity

The summer I am remembering was maybe 15 years ago. We lost electricity for several days. Fortunately the temperatures were reasonable. We bought a lot of ice and used our big cooler to keep perishables. We mostly cooked on our charcoal grill. And best of all, we spent time with each other, mostly talking.

Our daughter must have been away taking summer classes at college, but our adult son was still living at home. My husband and I were both teachers at the time, so we had the summer off. We have a small fire pit, the kind that has legs and looks a bit like a charcoal grill. We used it more those electricity-free days than at any other time. The three of us sat around the fire and talked. We talked and listened a lot. Our son had a habit of hibernating in his room, but those several days he sat with us and talked. 

The mother of one of my 4th grade students and I were talking about the days without power much later. She had taken her two daughters and checked into a hotel with a pool until power was restored. That was also a practical solution, but she was practically dumbstruck when I explained how we coped at home. 

It was pleasant, low-key. No television, no computer, just conversation and books if it was light enough to read. We were lucky it was summer when the backyard became an important "room." 

When the power came back on we drifted back to normal, less conversation, more electronics. More convenient for sure.

But when I think about those days I miss sitting around together outside and talking just to talk.

Motivation v. Discipline

 I play French horn, which horn players around the rest of the world just call the horn. I play because I love the instrument, I enjoy playing in various groups, and it's a discipline that I began back in high school.

The thing is, it's summer and most of my regular groups all take a break for the summer. My horn choir still meets every other week, but to read music, not rehearse for a performance. And I have had to miss quite a few of these rehearsals for other reasons. When I have rehearsals and concerts coming up, I practice. I need to learn the music and stay in shape. It's like any physical activity - if you don't play, your muscles lose their strength. And it's not like I don't like playing - I do.

So I haven't been playing much and I feel bad about that. Obviously I need to set some goals, or maybe challenges, like learning some new music. Or setting a challenge goal of how many days in a row I can practice. 

I have been using Duolingo for over a year to learn a language. It is motivating, keeping up my streak - I do at least a little language learning every day. (I could write another post about how irritating Duolingo can be, but not today!)

As I write this I am deciding that I will pick something new to challenge me and something I already know and love to brush up on. Will I need more motivation than that? We'll see!

A Visit from a Daughter

Our daughter came to visit for 10 days!  She lives in Houston where she plays French horn in the Houston Ballet Orchestra and teaches horn lessons. We go down to visit her several times a year and she usually visits us at least once. This is the longest visit since she graduated college.

It's always wonderful to see her. She always brings a measure of chaos with her. Our kitchen gets taken over by gluten-free items. She is also very into healthy eating -- lots of fruit, veggies, smoothies containing fruit, veggies, and assorted powders -- so the refrigerator is filled to bursting with kale, berries, spinach, fruit juices, etc. 

She moves back into her old bedroom which then looks like the closet exploded all over the room. 

And she talks. We hear all about her life, her friends, the people who drive her crazy, the students she is so proud of. And music - lots of talk about music and musicians.

We miss her when she leaves. But now that we have a grandson and she has a nephew... well,, she's coming back in August!