Have yourself a messy, little Christmas....
That's way the carol goes, right?
Or, actually, that's the way life goes!
Because, really, Christmas is messy. It always has been. The first Christmas was DEFINITELY messy! Riding through the dessert on the back of donkey - while you're 9 months pregnant - and having to give birth in a stable - now THAT is MESSY! (At least there wasn't any snow!)
I have wonderful memories of Christmases growing up in Florida. My father was a minister, and so there was always a Christmas Eve candle light service(one of my most favorite traditions), which meant any traveling had to happen AFTER that service was over. And we always traveled to Jacksonville to wake up to spend Christmas day with the grandparents and cousins. It was wonderful to be around so much family at Christmas - but also messy. Trying to get all the presents, luggage, and 7 people packed into the station wagon so late at night. And Daddy drove, even though he was more than likely exhausted from taking care of his 'flock' and preparing for all of the extra worship services and then his time away from the church office. At least, being in Florida, we didn't have to worry about snow - now THAT would be REALLY MESSY!
The whole gift giving thing is messy as well. Does it all have to be equal? In size, in number, in amount spent, in time and effort? Boy, that makes it rather stressful. But does it need to be? What is the reason behind giving the gifts? For me, I like to give gifts to the people in my life that I care about - my family, my close friends and co-workers, and so on. Some gifts are big, some are little. And sometimes it's the little gifts that are the most memorable. And don't get me started on bows - they start out pretty, but get squished and damaged in travel. My MIL always hollers "Save me the bows" as we are opening presents at her house. So she ends up with dozens of squished bows. One year I wrapped up a bag of new bows for her to open on Christmas so we didn't have to save the old squished ones anymore. Guess what - she still hollered "Save me the bows"! Some traditions are hard to let go of - even if they involve squishy, messy bows!
And, of course, there's the whole - WHO do you spend Christmas with decision! Talk about MESSY! As my children were growing up, we opted to alternate holidays with each side of the family - my side for Christmas/my husband's side for Thanksgiving - my side for Thanksgiving/my husband's side for Christmas. Perfect - except that whichever side had Thanksgiving that year had to be prepared to share Christmas gifts a month early since we wouldn't be together for Christmas - and we were back to messy!
Now that my children are grown, it's still messy. It's rare that my husband and I both have the holiday off from work. We actually do this year and so we're doing a stay-cation at a resort nearby! Both my boys will be with us, but my daughter-in-love will be with her family for the holiday. We will visit my parents and then my husband's mother, spending most of the day driving, but spending time with the one's we love. Hopefully the roads won't be too messy - but at least there won't be snow down here in central Florida! ​
Since we're staying at a a resort, I brought some decorations with us. The wooden trees were made by my grandfather before I was born, and they are a little beat-up and weathered. But they travel well and add a nice backdrop to the wooden nativity I brought. It's not my fanciest nativity scene, but, again, it travels well and gets the point across. The angel was a last minute addition when the string broke as we were putting her on the Christmas tree. I think she goes well with the nativity scene!
Since we're in a condo, we brought a potted Norfolk pine as our Christmas tree. It probably won't be pictured in any decorative magazines, but the lights and ornaments add a festive touch. It's not the traditional shape of a Christmas tree, and the ornaments are a little random - what can I say - it's a bit of a mess! But that hasn't stopped us from putting presents underneath and celebrating anyway.
And isn't that what Christmas is all about? The world was a bit of a mess, so God sent his only son to remind us that he loves us and we should love each other - despite the circumstances and messes that we tend to get ourselves into. 
So try to tolerate, or even enjoy, the messes that happen this Christmas - and throughout the rest of the year. And remember to love each other, despite the messiness of the circumstances in which you find yourself. 
​Messy Christmas!

I love my family! But, boy, family relations can be such a mess at times! 
And add the holidays to the mix . . . it's a wonder that anybody is left to greet the new year!
But family is important - at least my family is important to me. I have a large family that is fairly intact! My parents live a little over an hour away, as does my mother-in-love (in another direction). I have 4 siblings spread across 3 states and 2 continents. Each of my siblings is married with children (along with some grandchildren for each of them). 
I also have a husband and children of my own, along with a daughter-in-love. My younger son and his wife are in the process of moving, but at the moment, we're all in the same town.
Communication is enhanced through the use of social media since we can't all see each other face-to-face on a daily basis. Facebook and texts are fine, but they aren't the same as a hug or a helping hand. (But depending on the drama of the day, sometimes the distance is necessary!) 
Because families are messy.
They are filled with people that all have the absolute CORRECT way to do anything. Except that it's not always the 'same' CORRECT way! And it doesn't always match MY CORRECT way! Don't they know that if they would just do what I say, it would all be perfect?! Hmph!
Well, it might be perfect for me, but not necessarily perfect for them. That's the messy part - trying to figure out which correct method is actually the perfect solution for the current situation. 
So, we work our way through the mess and hope to hug it out on the far side. 
Hope you can work your way through your own messy family interactions as this year comes to a close. Consider that 'your' correct solution might not match 'their' correct solution, and try to keep the volume under control and the hugs frequent!

I hate it when people find out I'm not perfect. 
Isn't that ridiculous?
Who of us is perfect?
And who expects anyone else to be perfect?
So why do we get so upset when our imperfections are brought to light?
Why do we beat ourselves up over our imperfections?
If we were all perfect, there would be no learning. 
If we were all perfect, there would be no growth.
And who gets to decide what exactly perfect is?
I am a perfect example of imperfection. So does that mean I'm perfect.....

Today we celebrated All Saints Day in church. For those not familiar with the term, it is a time of remembering the 'saints' that have passed on but were instrumental in our lives while on earth. The term 'saints' is used because in my religious tradition, we strive towards perfection in our lives - possibly an unobtainable goal while in our earthly form, but a goal non-the-less. 
But each one of these saints that we remember, was just a person. A less than perfect person. More than likely a 'sinner'. A mess of a person at times. But a mess that just might have blessed us at some point. And sometimes it is because of the mess that we were blessed.
In our congregation, we read through the names of our members that have passed away during this year. After each name is read, a bell is tolled. But not just any bell, our bell choir members stand in the outside aisles so we are surrounding the congregation and each ring one of the 'black key notes', in effect, making a melody out of a pentatonic scale. One of the wonderful things about the pentatonic scale is that the harmonies are all very 'natural' and sound good together, no matter which notes are played. So as each name is read, a different bell begins ringing with its own tempo and rhythmic pattern and continues ringing while the remaining names are read. There is no director. There are no set patterns. Even the octave placements are completely random. It could be quite a mess. But it is the most glorious, thrilling conglomeration of musical tones that you will ever be blessed to hear! 
Each one of these saints/sinners had a unique life with a unique sound and message. At times their lives might have intertwined, but each remained unique. What a mess, but what a blessing to have known them and shared their experiences. 

Lots of blessings this week!

Found out a nephew and his wife are expecting a baby this coming Spring! It's an extra special blessing because they originally had some difficulty conceiving. It's one of those things that 'you don't talk about', but there are many, many couples that go through a LOT to get pregnant. And since 'no one talks about it', it's hard to process all the emotions and move forward. So, a prayer of thankfulness for this young family to continue in good health!

Debuted one of my latest arrangements at our flute concert last Monday. This is a very unique arrangement - a duet for piccolo and belltree! It's crazy - but it works! Check it out. I'm working on getting the sheet music published.

Despite the weather (big thunderstorm in the late afternoon/early evening), the flute concert went well. Central Florida Sunshine Flutes also debuted an original composition by the husband of one of our members - "Ghost Dance" by Ralph Venezia which features the low 'spooky' flutes. It was lots of fun to play. 

Finished my latest online course with a 96.5 average! Woo Hoo! Especially since there wasn't a lot of communication from the instructor, which was a little frustrating. The next class starts next week, and I'm looking forward to it. It will finish the requirements for the HRM certificate that I've been working on this year.

Had some excellent rehearsals and private students this week. I love when we get to the point where we're making music and not just playing notes! 

So, lots of blessings from various aspects of day to day life. It's hard to ask for more than that! I hope that each of you finds blessings of your own in the coming week!

Where I work, they have offered an educational opportunity to hourly workers. The company will pay for classes, certifications, and degree programs from a number of participating universities and colleges. I was feeling the need to break out of my comfort zone this past year and so I looked into what was being offered. 
Since I already have a bachelor's and master's degrees, I wasn't sure that I wanted to commit to THAT MUCH studying, but there were some certification programs that looked interesting. I also need to continue working full time, so working on an online certification program might fit with my schedule, and if that went well, I would decide where to go from there.
Since it's been a few years since I have been involved with formal education, (ie - I have 2 grown sons) getting started with the program brought along its own challenges.
The high school that I graduated from is in a very rural section of the country. It does have a website...but it hasn't truly embraced the 'online' aspect of living in the USA in the 21st century. I found an email for the dean of students, whom I wrote with my request for my transcript. The dean then responded with a phone number of the person to contact. Since all of my activity would need to take place outside of traditional working hours (being employed full time myself), I wrote back and asked for an email address. It only took a week to get that all worked out! And, of course, there was not an online option for obtaining said HS transcript! But, I was eventually able to prove, that, yes, I did graduate from high school.
On to college - getting my transcript for my bachelor's degree was much easier. Everything was online and easily accessible - Yay, for small liberal arts colleges that keep up with the times! Then I tried to get my information for my master's from a larger state university. After several unsuccessful attempts to access my information online, I was able to talk to someone in the Admissions Department. They began by asking me for my Student ID # - hmmm - when I was a student there, our ID# was our Social Security #. Pretty sure that is now against the law, so why don't YOU tell me what my ID# is! After the stunned student assistant was able to grasp that someone "my age" was serious about continuing their education and needed access to their previous educational information, he was able to gather enough information from me to find my ID# and assist me in getting my transcript. Whew!
Signed up for the online course. Found out that English 101 was a pre-requisite for said course so I would have to submit my CLEP test score since I had 'tested out' of the class and a grade was not listed on my undergraduate transcript.
Back to the pursuit of online information! First challenge was that since my high school doesn't really have an online presence, it wasn't listed on the CLEP website. After some more poking around, I finally found a phone number to call. Talked with a lovely person who was able to find my HS, but couldn't find me in the system. A little more conversation and I ended up shocking another young person - they only keep CLEP scores for 25 years. But, yes, even though it was MORE than 25 years ago that I graduated from high school, I am still functioning and interested in furthering my education and improving my mind!
Since my 'official CLEP scores' were not available, I wrote to the admissions dept and informed them that the fact that I have completed both a bachelor and a master's degree was going to have to be enough proof that I would NOT have to take English 101 again to participate in the current certification program.
Thankfully, they did accept my reasoning, but also informed me that there was another pre-requisite class that I would need to take, that I had not taken previously. Fine. I'll take 2 online classes while working full time, directing 2 handbell ensembles at 2 different churches, participating in our community flute choir, teaching private students, running a music business, and maintaining my marriage. 
Oh, did I mention that I had to submit a FAFSA even though my company will be taking care of all the financial aspects of taking these classes! Argh! I thought I was through with FAFSA when my kids finished college!
Anyway, over the course of this year, I have completed 3 classes and maintained an A average in all of them. This is largely due to Mrs. Williams, my high school English teacher. For every activity in Mrs. William's English classes, we had to write a 5-paragraph theme. There had to be an appropriate opening paragraph with 3 main points, 3 paragraphs in the body referencing the 3 main points, and a closing paragraph that brings it all back together. For each paper that you submitted to Mrs. Williams, she would tell you what was missing and what you needed to do to correct it. You would them make the corrections and re-submit the paper. You could do this as many times as needed to get everything correct before the end of the term. If you made all the appropriate corrections, you would get an A in her class.
So, Mrs. Williams gets a huge thank you for teaching me how to write a paper. When taking online classes, writing and submitting papers is essential to survival. 
I am finishing up my fourth class, maintaining an A average, and am one power point presentation away from what I thought was the end of this certification program. But, oops, one more thing. Even though I will have completed all of the actual classes required for this certification program, I need 3 more credits to finish up the program. Ugh. So. I've signed up for the last class. I should be finished before Christmas this year.
I'm still working full time, even though my job has changed this past year. (Oh, yeah, while taking classes this year, I also transitioned into a new role at work with a completely different schedule, job requirements, and skill sets used.) I'm still involved with all my musical activities and running my music business.
And, I'm still married. 
It's been a full year with all the regular activities of family and friends and music and work. It's been messy on occasion. But there have been many blessings along the way. It's good to know I can hold my own in a 'classroom' and 'online'.

Is it a blessing or a mess? Isn't that the essential question? And doesn't it change in an instance?
There have been some real messes in my life that have eventually turned into untold blessings that I never expected! AND - there have been some blessings that turned into the worse messes that you could get stuck in.
So how do you tell what is a blessing and what is a mess? 
Well - that is what I'm going to explore with these blog posts - the blessings and messes of my life. Since music is a large part of my life, a lot of these posts will be about music. The blessed messes of rehearsals and musicians and performances and ensembles and arrangements and ... and ... and ...
But there are other aspects of my life - my blessed mess of a family. I love my family dearly, but, as they say, the term dysfunctional family is redundant. 
And I also have a full time job that has little to nothing to do with music or family - and there are days that going to work is a blessing and days that . . .
Anyway, I hope that you are able to count your blessings through the messes of the day.