I Sang This Weekend!

 I SANG THIS WEEKEND!!

What joy it was to reunite with my dear camp friends for our 105^th camp reunion.  There was a fabulous talent show on Saturday night and some of my performing arts counselors and I sang a song that we had sung a few years ago, Play!  From the musical, Finding Neverland.  It celebrates the power of play and says that “the world is so mysterious and wild, when you start to see it through the eyes of a child.”  How true.  

 

What was especially joyous for me was I allowed myself to SING!  I have been very worried about how this would go since I have lost a good amount of my hearing.  I have totally lost the hearing in one ear and have lost some in my good ear as well.  This had sent me into a very scary place earlier this summer.  The thought of losing my hearing and losing my ability to experience and enjoy music was terrifying.  Music has probably brought more joy to my life than almost anything other than my loved ones.  From playing saxophone in the junior high band to performing in musicals throughout my life and then to singing with my beloved acapella group, Custom Blend for almost 12 years, I have experienced such love and community while sharing music.   The Gospel Choir at Dartmouth brought me great joy when I was able to sing with them.  And of course, camp is a community that sings daily.  We sing at meals, we sing every morning when we gather for “assembly”.  The soundtrack of the summer binds us together in such important and special ways. 

 

So how fitting that it was at a camp event that I bravely let my voice shine.  Not only did we sing at the talent show, but we had a small and mighty choir who sang in our final Sunday assembly by the shores of Lake Morey.  You couldn’t have found a more beautiful spot to gather, reflect and to enjoy some lovely music.  I have discovered that I need to place myself strategically so my good ear is next to the accompaniment, whether that be a piano or other singers.  And while some things do not feel the same, I have a lifetime of muscle memory with my voice and my heart to inspire my singing.  

 

We’ll see how far I can take my music in the future but for now, for this weekend, I am ecstatic to have been able to sing with friends and to feel the spirit move me. 

 

I will share some of the song we sang today.

 

Another sun is rising in the sky

Another breeze is blowing down the lake

Can’t you hear the call of all that longs to be

In every single sacred breath you take.

 

Whatever makes an ordinary day

Turn fresh and new and beautiful to see

Well, it’s not the things that we’re so certain of

But chances that we take that make us free.

 

Aloha in the hills, Aloha in the skies,

Aloha in our hearts, Aloha in our eyes

And when at close of day,

That ol’ moon begins to rise,

We’ll bless this very day,

We’ll bless this day with thanks that we’re alive.

 

Written by the incomparable Biff Fink. 

 

 

 

 

What Took Me So Long?

It’s that glorious time of year when the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing and I get to be at my beloved camp, Aloha Hive.  With all of the health challenges of the last two years, my participation is limited but still filled with joy and wonder.  I have spent a few mornings a week in the Arts and Crafts barn, doing art projects with campers.  These are girls, age 7-12.  They are exuberant, curious and living their best life.  How lucky they are.

 

When I am not at camp, I have become immersed in art projects at home- mostly multi-media art and collaging.  This is a new avocation for me and I am utterly hooked on it.  I find it peaceful and restorative.  It has given me a creative outlet when I am not able to be in the theatre.  

 

The question I am pondering this morning as I paint in my sketchbook is what the heck took me so long?  There were opportunities along the way.  When I was a camper in my youth,  there was a spectacular art barn with weaving, pottery, jewelry making.  You name it and it was there.  I never went to this barn. Not once.  I was too busy rehearsing for the annual summer show or playing tennis.  What a missed opportunity. 

There have been bursts of creativity along the way like the year we created el-wire costumes to bring to Burning Man.  We were a big hit as we hit the playa after dark.  This photo captures friends Cal and Tedford and sister, Amy.  

  Happily, I have found ways to be creative in my garden and in the kitchen.  And I have reveled in the music and theatre in my life.  What is so much fun about my new passion is that I have the rest of my life to get good at it.  For now, I am just playing.  I am experimenting and putting no pressure on myself to get it right. Not yet.  I did have a fleeting thought the other day of actually showing up at a craft fair someday to sell my creations.  HA!  We won’t hold our breath for that. 

 

For now, I am grateful to have discovered this new aspect of my creative life.  I am appreciative of the campers who I am spending time with this summer as they are inspiring me.  And there is a whole community of multi-media artists on Instagram- #FodderSchool who are inspiring me as well.  Check it out.  Maybe you’ll discover a new part of you too.  Jump in, the water’s warm.