He’s 94, so it may never be quite like it was. I don’t know how long before my dad can be more mobile and back to a sort of normal. I can handle the days far better, the depression, the adrenaline better when I’ve slept. I have felt the need for good sleep for quite some time. We have hired a good friend to be a nighttime backup for most nights.īecause my mom has a heart problem she absolutely needs her sleep, so nights are critical, restful ones. Ed, Cheri, and I make sure someone is always backing up my mom with my dad’s needs. I cannot think of anything that is still the same. I am not subbing, and I took a hiatus from my hotel job. In the meantime I have adjusted my life to accommodate my dad’s needs. My dear brother came from New York and stayed with our parents night and day while the first adjustments became routine. My dad is doing his exercises faithfully, remembering to follow his protocol, and everyone is trying to adjust. These past two weeks have been a gradual acclimation to a new normal. It turned out to be a stroke, and fairly mild, by all accounts. That is something normal for substitute teachers, but this day I was surprised because the students are mostly distance learning on Fridays. It was just over two weeks ago when the phone rang at 6:00 am. (But please still say a prayer for me, because I need that!) When you see me weeping in the truck as I drive down the highway you will know that I am listening to Gjeilo. I think about heaven a lot when I’m listening to Gjeilo’s works. It is almost like being able to share the beauty with him while he enjoys heaven. It helps to know Brian and I shared our love for Gjeilo’s music! I feel it honors my late husband in a way when I listen to it. In particular I listened to the recording by Voces8, a song called “The Lake Isle.” That CD is wonderful. I’m grateful to him for composing such healing music for grief for me.
Sometimes my own grief was just a black mass in my chest. I think there is a depth or heaviness to the Scandinavian background. I remember a thought from Isabella Rosselini about her Swedish days (dark) and her Italian days (light). His ponderous Norwegian background has genetically linked with my own Norwegian background-perhaps also the Swedish in me. This year I have listened to Ola Gjeilo’s music almost every single day. I know the power of praise music to dispel depression. I love the mathematical format, the symmetry, the harmony, and the emotional energy. I believe music is absolutely powerful, and that God made it to glorify Himself through our ability to make music. I’ve been a church pianist, soloist, and choir member as I was able and asked. I sang with the Northern Lights Chorale for 10 years, the Minnetonka Choral Society for 3 seasons. I’ve sung with several community choirs in Louisiana, Texas, and Iowa. I sang in a girl’s group (Daughters of the King) back in high school with my friends. I was the student band conductor in high school, and I love conducting the choirs at the Middle School and High School.įor my alto voice I have soloed in “The Messiah,” by Handel, and Benjamin Britton’s Ceremony of Carols. I make a pretty good substitute for the music program at my school. I play the piano as if it is a part of my breathing, but I’m no longer very good at it.
Its deep voice gives me thrills when I pluck those strings. Voice, piano, flute, guitar, pipe organ, recorder, harp, oboe (badly), viola (badly), and now I’ve got a Double Bass in the house which I am keeping for my friend who is moving away. My list of musical credentials are as follows: