Post #10 - A Better Way

I have a deadline to meet but here I am blogging about our piano lessons. All February, all I've been wanting to write about in my journal is my family, whereas last year it was all work. Last year, I was in school full time plus I was doing some freelance writing. All my efforts were focused on my career. When I was with my children my mind was off somewhere, thinking about the novel or the article I was working on. I was rarely in the moment. As the year passed, it got worse and my work completely consumed me and though I didn't like it, I couldn't stop. My wonderful husband had to fill in the gaps around the house and with the kids. I knew something had to give and that something was me. By the end of the school year I was completely burnt out.

This September I knew I had to do things differently. I cut my course load in half and in January I took Kai out of daycare to spend more time with him. At the same time we started Koji in Suzuki piano lessons. All these things have been positive changes in the right direction. It's so much better, not that things are perfect. I've perhaps gone too far the other way, not enough attention on my work. It's all about balance. I'll get it eventually.

These days we've gotten into a good rhythm. I can't tell you how much I look forward to practicing piano. It's weird, I know. The best days are when I bring out a new practice game. When Koji sees it, he raises his eyebrows and smiles. Those practices always last a long time. The best is when he says, 'mommy can we play this game again tomorrow?'. It feels almost as good as when he tells me he loves me. I give myself a pat on the back for making something tedious, into something enjoyable. He works so hard.

My days are lived more in the moment now and part of that credit goes to the Suzuki Method. It's a nice diversion to get those creative juices going for something other than my writing. I set aside a little time every day to prepare for practice by making fun games. I've got my husband cutting out little dog pictures from an old breeders magazine (for a dog walking game). And I've got Kai helping too! He loves it. I'll be recycling all these games when Kai starts his lessons. Who knows, maybe I'll put together a little kit to sell, 100 fun and easy piano practice games. And make someone else's practice time go down a little easier,

What was most trying last year were all the bugs and virus' we caught. It seemed like there was always someone sick in the house. Koji was sick at home at least a week during the school year, Kai at least a week and a half. My husband was off work for over two weeks with a hernia amongst other things. I remember getting upset when he got sick as if he wanted to. Interesting how this year nobody has come down with anything more than the sniffles. Nobody has called in sick a single day. If our physical condition is an indication of our family's well being, then this speaks volumes.

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