Birthdays. My youngest son turned eight years old yesterday. We had cinnamon rolls for breakfasts, I took treats to him and his classmates, he had two friends over after school and we had a water gun fight in the park. He ordered chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner, we all sat around and ate and talked about the day and, just like that, he was eight and not seven and I'm a little older too.
Roofing. I had a busy day at work yesterday. It reminded what bringing your "A game" to the restaurant business means. It means smiling, taking the orders, refilling the drinks and they just keep coming for lunch. When I got home I was greeted by a work crew of ten guys up on my roof ripping stuff off and throwing it into a trailer. So the birthday party was serenaded by hammers and footsteps and wondering if something was going to fall through the ceiling. They were done by the time we were done with dinner. It was loud, but it was impressive!! It made me feel like I'm not doing anything with my time.
Gigs. Tonight my friend Heather from Iowa comes to play my favorite Seward art Gallery. She gets to come share her songs, I get to see her play and share my talented friends with a crowd who has really been supportive of my work and the work of other local artists. And the cool thing? Heather gets to stay for tomorrow's Star Belle gig in Hastings and she's never seen that group perform. It's a weekend of firsts! I love music. Have I mentioned that already? Oh, and Star Belle will be meeting up with 1011 news next week to do a segment on our band. We're gonna be on TV, y'all.
In the meantime I've taken a shine to the banjo hanging around my living room and kitchen. I keep playing this lick over and over. I'm off today and, after going on my run and getting my hair cut, I'm going to take advantage of some quiet moments and see what the music tells me. I'm going to listen harder than I have been and stop holding the feels and the words at arms distance.
Things to work on: listening harder, pulling things closer.