So Many Toys, So Little Time

It's a rainy day and my first thoughts are getting cozy, making myself a cup of green tea, and exploring all these new treasures that I am being exposed to. I can easily do the "cozy" part, and I'm already sipping my hot cup of green tea. Ahhh, how soothing! Then reality smacks me on the back of the head. For I spent all day yesterday in Boston at the Hines Convention Center supporting our district's music program as my sons' high school jazz band and combo group and other like groups from high schools all around the country competed in Berklee's High School Jazz Festival. What incredible young musicians and vocalists we had the pleasure of hearing! I'm always amazed at the talent and drive of these students.
So what does this have to do with my plans for today? Well, I realized, as I so often do, that I am not the student I was many years ago before I assumed the role of wife, mother, daugther of an elderly parent, full time employee, director of a children's chorus, guitar teacher, and graduate student, not necessarily in order of importance but certainly all of equal pressures and demands. The difficult part is that I want to do them all and I want to do them all right.
So now to my "To Do List":

• Wash and pack clothes for my two sons going to Disney this week to perform with their high school jazz band
• shop for items they will need for the trip
• take my mother to fill her prescriptions
• grocery shop for the week ahead
• finish plans for my library classes this week
• do plans for my guitar students this week
• record two songs and write out lyrics for the Songbirds who have a gig coming up next week
• tweek my project due today
• work on my research project due in my other class due next week
• drive my son over to work on a group project for his social studies class
• help my other son with his scholarship applications due to be postmarked tomorrow
• cook??
• clean???

And so my story goes: I don't have the option of sitting back to thoroughly explore and enjoy all the fabulous tools out there. I need to proceed slowly because there are so many other responsibilities that I find in front of me. I am determined to be able to do it all and I'm hoping that I can do it all well, and I am really looking forward to the day when I can get "cozy", make another cup of green tea, take a deep breath, and do some heavy duty exploring and then applying all the treasures that I find to my lessons so that my students benefit as well as I. So, I already know how I'll be spending my summer. Here's hoping for a long one.