Well, it's been a while since I've blogged, over a year, actually. There has been much that has happened since I last wrote, so here is the somewhat condensed version.
Last May I had the pleasure of going down to Denton to Guyer High School to see George Parks play with the GHS band. It was great because I had never really heard him play tuba before. He studied Tuba with Arnold Jacobs!! I think that is so cool. The concert was great and I enjoyed seeing old friends.
Last summer was great. Teaching DMA's and a trip to Vegas! Totally awesome. Went on a helicopter ride over the Hoover Dam and West Rim of the Grand Canyon. Great trip. DMA was awesome as usual. If I only had known then what I know now!!
September 16, 2010 my life changed forever. Many lives changed forever. My dear friend and mentor George N. Parks passed away. He had a heart attack. You always know that at some point you are going to have to say "goodbye" to people, but you're never prepared for it. We all went through the end of every summer expecting that the next summer would be the same. We all did the hugs and the "Friends" line and went on our merry way. If we'd only known.
It's been six months now. There are days when things feel normal and I still feel like I can pick up the phone and call my friend. Then there are days when I know that's not possible. I think about his dynamic personality and way of winning kids over. His way of reaching people and of motivating them to be excited about what they are doing! I can only aspire to be the type of teacher that he was. I think of him every day and I miss him a lot. I wonder if that part ever changes.
On Christmas Eve my grandmother passed away. She had been sick on and off for the past few years, but it was still a surprise. At least we were all there. My Grandpa had her cremated even though they had burial plots and decided against having services, which was sort of bizarre. I'm a firm believer that services are not for the dead, but for those who are left behind.
Enough about death. We all miss and continue to love those we have lost. We continue about our daily lives in a way that we hope they will be proud of us.
I added a new member to the family. Hadley came to live with me New Year's Eve. She's super cute and too smart for her own good. She and Beethoven are getting along quite well. He has finally settled down (thank goodness) and become an enjoyable cat!!
I'm in Spring Break mode now. I really need to be doing productive stuff, like LAUNDRY!! My favorite, but I've been too busy surfing the web reading stuff about the Japan Nuclear crisis and watching bad tv.
Stuff at school has been going pretty ok. We have a new principal and that's been interesting. They kids are doing pretty well and I think they're excited about our spring concert music.
I'm going to do my best to update more frequently and not only when I'm sad!! Also, I'll try to post some more pictures soon!! I hope you are all well! Happy St. Patty's Day!!
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