Last night I had some writing to complete.  I am speaking at an event in Missouri this week and my talk was all over the place!  I had so many ideas and they just were not organized the way I had wanted them to be.  I needed to have some quiet…some solitude to try to wrestle with my ideas.  I do most of my writing in our downstairs (basement) den, but everyone else was down there too.  I tried doing something different and it was amazing.

I put on some headphones, went to my iTunes and clicked on my classical music.  Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony began…one of my absolute favorite works.  I was in a room with 3 other people and 2 dogs with the television on and not only did I not physically hear the noise behind me, but I didn’t even feel anyone’s presence.  The music transported me to a time in my life when music was at the center of what I did everyday.

I fell in love with music in college.  I always knew I wanted to be a band director, but I never understood the depth and beauty of classical music until I went to school.  My favorite class was chamber music.  It was amazing!  My teacher, Julie Jacobs, gathered small groups and we worked on chamber music pieces.  It was nothing like playing in a band or orchestra.  It was intimate, exposing, powerful and beautiful.  We would perform our pieces at regular Monday “forum” for the music department and even go and play at “Munchies.” 🙂  It was a classical music bar in Houston where performers would go and perform (and drink for free) 🙂  Good times!

I never dreamed I would leave the teaching profession for a second career and all of these years later I have removed myself from music.  Music is something that never leaves you.

When INXS or Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” comes on the 80’s station I automatically think of Cyndi from high school.

Anita Baker’s “Rapture” album reminds me of the early days of being in love with my husband as we began to date.

Tejano music makes me smile as I think of my Dad sitting in his lawn chair with the sprinkler going and a Lone Star in his hand on a Saturday afternoon.

But classical music…it is ingrained in my soul.  I’ve avoided that place in me for so long maybe because I have missed it.

God sure knew what he was doing when he put people on this earth with a gift and love for music.  These amazing people that create music have an understanding of what makes a person’s heart move and fill with an unspeakable love like no other.  I know that God has spoken to me by nudging me to remember how music changed my life.

I’m looking forward to not only what I remember, but what is left to create.

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. Headphones
2. Notifications
3. Dog videos
4. A clean bathroom
5. Looking forward to visits with friends