Being Kind, Going to a Band Concert

A Year of Being Kind blog – Sunday, August 17, 2014

Being Kind, Going to a Band Concert

My husband and I went to a band concert today. Yes, an outdoor summer band concert, a community band. With two Sousa marches, a Leroy Anderson tune, and Percy Granger among the music on the program. With the added sparkle of a Wizard of Oz medley, plus a Louis Armstrong retrospective. Who could ask for anything more?

Except—this wasn’t merely a pleasant Sunday summer’s afternoon event. No, our daughter was one of the band members. So, attending the band concert was in part showing support for our daughter and her band, and, the band’s director, Dr. Dave Fodor. We heard the Wilmette Community Band this afternoon, and their performance was by turns rousing, enjoyable, and even touching.

My daughter Rachel has been playing bass clarinet and contra-clarinet for the past number of years. Since she was living at home with us for the past year, and the band director happened to know she was available to play in the community band, she has been providing them some bass support. (She very much likes to play those low notes!) This was the last opportunity she had to play with the band, because she is going away to college in just a few days. And—my husband and I took the opportunity to attend their open-air summer concert.

My husband and I have both participated in a number of musical groups, in grammar school, high school, college, and afterwards. (Including recently.) We are accustomed to rehearsals, keeping track of music and musical instruments, and performing for various kinds of audiences. (This afternoon’s audience was genial, friendly and laid back. Just what a summer concert audience ought to be.) It’s a wonderful thing to pass on a love for music to our daughter. Not only an appreciation for music, in a listening-kind-of-sense, but also an enjoyment in performance, as well.

Sure, I enjoyed attending the concert! But who says being kind and enjoyment are mutually exclusive? Both my husband and I were and are awfully proud of our daughter. She played very well, in her usual capable, workmanlike manner. (As my husband said, “I expected no less.” <grin>) Yes, of course I attended my daughter’s concert today! And, I am trying my best to express kindness to her, along with love and appreciation.

As we count down the days until my daughter goes away to college, I am doing my best to savor what time I have with her. Those last, few days.

@chaplaineliza

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Serve with Enthusiasm Means Be Kind, Positively!

A Year of Being Kind blog –Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Pooh, Eeyore and Christopher Robin – illustration by Ernest Shepard

Serve with Enthusiasm Means Be Kind, Positively!

Today was a whirlwind day. Running, running from one thing to the next. Don’t get me wrong—I enjoyed everything I did today! However, I also considered the verse I’ve chosen for March again. It comes from Ephesians 6:7. “Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women.”

I was at my new job for a while this morning, then at my old job this afternoon, and back to the new job for the evening Lenten service. My new church is full of life during the week, what with the preschool and small children in many classrooms throughout the north part of the church. I love children, and especially small, exuberant ones. Overwhelmingly, they have almost no inhibitions at all, entering into each experience as a new adventure, or a fascinating curiosity.

This exuberant enthusiasm of these dear children is something I find echoed in the verse I chose for March. (And I chose it for March at the beginning of January, I’ll have you know. Coincidence? Providence? You decide.) Truly, God is blessing people at my work. Not only the congregation, but also the preschool. I pray that it continues!

I also had a bittersweet good-bye today. I said farewell to someone I’ve gotten to know very well. I don’t mean, farewell for good. However, this dear person and I will not see each other very often, now that I have taken this new position. This dear one wished me the best! Imagine the appreciation and kind regard I have in my heart! And I wished the very best for that person, as well.

Question: how did I get in this particular place, anyhow? I still feel like pinching myself, because at the beginning of March, I had no idea that by the third Sunday, I would be leading worship in a new church. Today was the weekly bible study. Already, I am starting to feel the rhythms of this new place. Already, I can enjoy the children as I walk down the halls and say hello to students and staff alike.

It’s good to praise God with enthusiasm! Of course, the pessimistic viewpoint tries to inform me that it may rain tomorrow, and I may lose my keys, and someone might even shut the door on my tail. (Oh, no. Now I’m sounding like Eeyore. Oh, bother!) I much prefer the optimistic view, right now. Happy-go-lucky, one-day-at-a-time thinking. I suspect Winnie the Pooh would approve.

So, whether I am channeling Eeyore, Pooh, Piglet, Tigger or Owl, I hope I can always consider the excellent example of these dear preschool children. And be enthusiastic. Even if I’m not quite as exuberant as Tigger.

@chaplaineliza
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