The announcement came at 11:30 on Friday morning: New York schools would be closed for the year. It wasn’t a surprise, of course. I didn’t think I had a shred of expectation that we might return in June— I even signed up for an online class on Thursday afternoons for the month of May, knowing […]
loss
The Perpetual Goodbye
This week, I’m saying goodbye to my fifth grade band students. I’ve been teaching them for two years. That’s about 60 small-group lessons and 85 band rehearsals– a lot of student-teacher contact time. I’ve gotten to know many of them quite well, and I’m going to miss them very much. It’s something that isn’t discussed […]
Gratitude When Times Are Tough
“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.” -Ernest Hemingway Everyone goes through tough times. Everyone. What distinguishes the survivors from the thrivers is not the severity of the suffering, but the ability to rise above it. Some people experience profound life losses and find themselves capable of moving forward […]