Within the last two weeks, I have experienced what a number of you already been through; caring for an aging parent. While my 82-year-old Mother has successfully battled chronic myeloid leukemia for nine years, complications set in with an intolerance of a combination of medications, resulting in a week-long hospital stay. I dropped everything to sit by her side for four days, even to just "be there". A week later, I found myself again on that 2 1/2 hour drive back home to give assistance. Hopefully, she is on the mend and soon to be back to her active self.

At times, I felt like the roles were reversed, and I became the Mother, encouraging her to eat, drink and give advice on recovering quickly. Sometimes it was frustrating when she didn't comply, but I quickly thought of two things: someday I will be in that same position with my children coming to my aid, and after all the love she and my Dad gave me growing up, that role of "loving" was what a daughter does. I am the person today because of that important love she shares. I won't always have her to share laughter, conversations and encouragement, and my work, house-cleaning and menial tasks will be there tomorrow. Parents won't. This is when I realize the "importance of love."

This is the time of year where music plays an important role in the celebration of Christmas. Imagine not hearing the familiar carols, a child's holiday concert or your favorite radio station that plays Christmas standards 24-7. "It's not Christmas without hearing or singing "Silent Night" or "Joy to the World" (with candles held high!)", they say. Perhaps not. However,  for 5 weeks or so, these musicians continually plan, rehearse and coordinate performances for  ensembles and choirs to provide worship music, or in the case of the secular world, holiday music for Christmas concerts, meetings, banquets and parties. It is often overwhelming and "Bah Humbug" often enters the mind. In this particular year, there are 4 Sundays of Advent, Christmas Eve, and both Christmas Day and New Year's Day, which fall on Sunday. For choral directors in both the secular and sacred world (of which I have been both), there is still much to do for preparation of the holidays -shopping, wrapping, traveling, card-sending, cooking and the list goes on!

At this time of year one week before we celebrate Christ's birth, say a little prayer or a word of thanks to your favorite musician for providing music that helps put you in the holiday spirit! 

A new read I want to share especially for this time of year is "The Uncluttered Heart" by Beth Richardson. The premise for the book is that during the endless preparations of Christmas, we lose track of joy-tired, grumpy and fed up with hurrying, buying the perfect gift and multi-tasking. It occurs to us that it might be easier just to "skip Christmas" this year because it's too much work. In times like these, joy becomes an action rather than a feeling. Joy's presence in the world doesn't depend upon our feelings. Joy surrounds; we simply open our hearts to God's presence. In this season, we can, and need to give thanks for friendships, food and fellowship with others. We can pray for those in front of us in a traffic jam. We can, and need to, notice God's abundant signs of joy during this Christmas season.

In a hurried, busy world, I pause to thank God for the many blessings of a healthy life, happy family, wonderful husband and two working, "well-adjusted" children. More importantly, I give thanks for the love of a mighty and powerful Savior! Let us be kind to others, hug a little more often, and reflect upon our blessings this Thanksgiving season!

     In a recent "Love Strong" series at church, we were encouraged to reach out to someone who had made a difference in our lives and say "Thank You." I had always wondered what happened to my college piano professor with whom I studied for four years. Thanks to Google and www.whitepages.com,  I located an address and phone number in California for Victor and Esta Wolfram. I assumed they had both passed away since I graduated from Oklahoma State 37 years ago. Imagine my surprise when Esta answered the phone! I thought she would tell me she was a widow. Instead she hollered, "Victor, it's for you!" A flood of memories came back as his 93-year-old voice was as strong as in those 8:OO a.m. Monday morning lessons. We talked for thirty minutes and shared memories and accomplishments from past decades. It was great to re-connect. Later, I contacted Evan Tonsing, our brilliant but quirky college theory professor. He remembered me and many of my classmates, many of whom went on to be successful choral educators including one who became a Broadway musical director. After spending the evening re-connecting, I emailed some of my close friends who were graduates from the Oklahoma State School of Music. I shared the news of my conversations with our music professors and sent pictures and email addresses to them.
      It is easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of daily activities. Let's not forget to stop, remember and thank the people who helped us get where we are today. I missed the opportunity to talk with my former OSU choral director, Dr. Hoover Fisher, who passed away earlier this year.