It’s been quite some time since I was last active here on my own website. I notice that the last post was June 11th of 2014! Wow, so 6 years have gone by and although my webpage doesn’t reflect it, things have been changing and evolving form me over the last 6 years. In a way, I am returning to my roots. Both my parents were teachers and now after almost 20 years in the music therapy business, I am returning to school for a master’s in music education. It’s not that I don’t love the work I do as a music therapist, I do. I just really feel the desire to get into the school system. I was a student in RUSD schools my whole life and now my children are RUSD students; it’s also the same district my parents taught for and with so much history there, I love our schools. I love the teachers that teach for our schools. I love the students that attend our schools. But I see that as a system our schools are failing all these people I love. When I was offered a music specialist position at the Racine Early Education (REE) Center, I was a little skeptical. I knew the director and felt that she was a great advocate, who truly cared about the students and was awesome to work for. Plus, I love the early childhood kiddos the best, but I wasn’t sure I would be able to acclimate to a system like Racine Unified School District after years of working for myself. In the end I took the job and did both- wearing my teacher hat 2 days a week and kept my therapy hat the other 3 days of the week. Now as I ponder the next phase of my career, I think I can do amazing things to change the broken system. I am pursuing my license so that I can continue to teach for the public schools and in the process will earn my Masters. I think I have great things to offer as a Music Therapist of many years’ experience in addition to the education I am getting back in school again at Cardinal Stritch. I am a hybrid of what music can be- healing supportive, adaptive and innovative plus, standards driven, research-based, skills focused and collaborative. I do not only address the music skills you learn in general music so that you can understand the language of music, but I use the music as ways to discover the strength students have inside music and otherwise, that helps them to develop important life skills. Emotional expression, self-awareness, kindness and compassion, empathy and confidence are at the core of everything I teacher.
As I make this transition, I will be updating and modifying this website to reflect my work as both a teacher and a therapist. During the school year, I will focus on what is happening in school. In the summer I will be focusing on therapeutic services. Keep an eye on the website for changes as they are rolled out and bear with me as I make this transition. We are living in a new normal and I am evolving to adapt to the change. Join me on this journey.

Today, as I was driving, I was listening to WUWM, Lake Effect and I heard an interview with a gerontologist (someone who studies aging) who worked with dementia patients. She had been researching the effects of music on her nursing home residents and found many benefits to listening to favorite songs – or preferred music as we MTs call it.

None of the research was surprising or new to me, but I was glad to hear that research was being done on the effects of music by another profession besides Music Therapists. It kind of sent me down another track of a more personal application. She talked about how she was in the process of creating her own playlist to be used by friends and family when and if she ever was elderly, ill or incapacitated in a way that made it difficult to communicate her wished to her care takers. Eureka! Of course! Why haven’t I thought of that? I have often thought about the music that calms me…motivates me…brings back memories…but I have never made a list of those songs! What a great tool to have. Only you truly know what goes through your mind when you hear certain songs and making a list of those songs and what they do for you, is almost like creating a treatment plan for  future care givers like Music Therapists to use.

I’m going to start my list and encourage family members to do the same. Mom and Dad, I don’t know what’s in store for us as the next stage of our lives unfold, but this tool would be invaluable to me! I’m sure I could make some pretty good guesses as to what my family likes to listen to, but it’s the specific songs that are tied to memories and emotions that are key. Putting this list together now, means that you can consider all the options while your mind is healthy and functioning. Some of the songs I played in the UW-Eau Claire Symphony Orchestra would never occur to my brother to put on my favorite song list, but the Shostakovitch Symphonies or the Barber Adagio for Strings that we played as I cried tears on stage is a memory that my family might not consider. And I think those are precious….so I’m writing them down and starting today. You should too.

We are getting ready to go back to school at my house this week. Kids are getting up earlier and going to bed earlier- and we have gotten back into the habit of reading and doing math facts. The routine of school is always more demanding than summer routines. I do cherish the summer…riding bikes and baseball games. My kids play around the house, pretending with their littlest pet shop collections, building with legos and experimenting with the art supplies that are forever cluttering up the kitchen table, but I love that they can get engrossed in something that lets them explore creatively without the interruption of me having to yell, “It’s time to go! Hurry up and get ready so we are not late!!”

Then again, it will be good to get back into the routine. I can already tell my son’s additions facts are not as keen now, as they were at the end of the school year. Little ones that thrive on routine, like my daughter, are getting board and cranky. The biggest problem with the impending loom of the first day back to school, is the stress that come with it all. I am trying to be proactive this time and do a better job planning ahead so that we transition smoothly without all the stress, but I feel it creeping into my neck muscles no matter what I do.

Then I remember to stretch and breathe and I am reminded of how lucky I am to do music with little kids everyday. I get down on the floor with all the little ones with my guitar, and for the time that I am there, I forget about my daily stresses. I breathe deeply, I sing with my soul, I dance until I’m breathless and drum away all the worries in the room.

Back to school routines will be good. Goodbye Summer! It was a good one.