Happy Friday, friends.
November’s cold, dark days have been lengthened and brightened by the uptick in rehearsals I have this time of year. Christmas Eve this year is on a Sunday, so my choral load has doubled, plus I somehow got roped into a performance in January (…how did that…happen?). It’s work – it’s a lot of work – to be a musician with dyscalculia. I memorize my part and everyone else’s, so I don’t have to rely on my ability to count. I count note signatures on my fingers. I forget the names of notes – routinely. It’s work. However, I love that music is work that I can do.
Work that we can do is… more important than we might understand. Especially for those of us with learning differences, who have so often had work set before us which we can make neither heads nor tails of, it makes a difference to be able to put our hands to something and see it through – to complete it, using the best of our abilities. To achieve. To succeed.
So, thanks, for that. For accomplishments that perhaps seem small and routine when viewed from outside, but which feed the soul of the hive.
legs laden
what sweeter music
than hum of satisfaction
as bee flies hiveward
Poetry Friday is brought to you by the letter K, and our hostess, Mrs. E, whose blog has a shockingly clever title. Be well and fly strongly, little bees.
Love that you experience the hum of satisfaction in music!
You are carrying gold, Tanita! I don’t have a diagnosed anything, but remembering steps in a process is so hard for me. It made drum corps almost impossible. I could DO any of the choreography–learning it and remembering it was the challenge. And same at my new pt job. The work isn’t hard, but remembering all the steps on the tiny tablet (without any written instructions/cheat sheets) is damn near impossible. So, celebrating the weight of abilities and small achievements. Sing it!
Oh, Tanita, I am having a great many gratitudinous feelings, thanks to your post. 🙂 Your haiku is gorgeous and I love the grateful take on laden legs. I wish I could come hear you sing!
I have some catching up to do here! The past few months have precluded me from staying caught up with my favorite corners of the internet. I hope to remedy that. ❤️
Cousin Tanita, you complain, you protest, but anyone can see how pollinated you are by your musical work! My favorite part of your gratitudinous haiku is its title…one could think of one’s legs as heavy with effort or weariness, or one could think of them as laden with the golden seeds of pollen. I prefer the latter and am gratitudinous for the knowledge of you out there in the world doing your thing(s)!
Tanita, what a beautiful post. I just learned you are a musician. You add beauty to the world in more ways than I knew before. That word “hiveward” is gorgeous.
@Denise Krebs: Especially this time of year, there’s so much music – and so much beauty – to be had! Thanks for stopping by and your kind comments.
Every little thing brings accomplishment, Tanita, and getting things done for your love of music is an example we can all learn from, bringing the pieces together, like your accomplished bee seems to be YOU, too. I have one granddaughter who will feel good reading your post, will share! Thank you!
@lindabaie: Thank you for stopping by – and I’m glad your granddaughter has someone like you in her corner to encourage her.
Tanita, I fell asleep reading your post last night and this morning my responses have flown away but I shall persevere in adding my comment. The title and graphic you shared is fabulous. I am super impressed by your willingness to express your disability with the name I have never heard of. “Work that we can do is… more important than we might understand.” My son was born with neurological issues due to a traumatic birth. With cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, and severe short term memory loss he has struggled throughout his life but he perseveres. We are knee deep in paperwork with appeal upon appeal to have him designated disabled by the Feds. Your talent for writing is proof that you have gone beyond your issues and remain grateful. Thank you for being openly honest about your struggles. The title of your poem is perfect in light of your struggles. There is positivity in your line, “than hum of satisfaction”. Thank you for your haiku full of gratitudinous. – Carol V
@cvarsalona: I’m sorry that your son has experienced such struggle, but am grateful that you walk next to him as he does what he can to live his life to the fullest. Many haven’t heard of dyscalculia it’s like having dyslexia, only with numerical, spatial, and logical components instead of words. Thanks for dropping by, even though you were sleepy!
Thanks for the response, Tanita.
Permission, please, to revise that last sentence to give thanks for ALL accomplishments period…because the small and routine ones DO feed the soul of the hive…perhaps more reliably than the rare and grand ones.
@MaryLee: Agreed, and granted.
Hear, hear — for finding satisfaction in work we can do and expressing gratitude for it! Um, my calendar says Christmas is on a Monday ? Someday you must let us hear you sing!! I know you enjoy music and work hard at it – we are curious and deserve a recital. 🙂
@Jama-j: Christmas EVE, anyway. Oy. I don’t even know what day it is already, and it’s not December yet.