Cherishing the Moments

My, what a great week it was last week! It was so nice to have my parents here- they followed me around at school and saw me teach many of my classes, and they were even able to attend the JAMM Informance on Wednesday (which went super well)!

Visiting the Mendenhall Glacier together!

The sun even came out in Juneau for a few days, so I was able to take my parents to see the best sights of the city, including the Mendenhall Glacier and the Shrine of St. Therese. My mom returned to Detroit on Friday so she could be back for work today, and my dad returned this morning (bright and early!!). My dad and I spent time with some Symphony friends with whom he has been working this past week, and we also got some good quality time together. We even hiked Mt. Roberts to the tram yesterday as the sun was setting! There's not much to say about that experience except that it was hard, but definitely worth it...the most common phrases shared between us in conversation during that hike involved my dad asking if we were almost there, and me continuously saying, “We are SO close!!” (I may have used that phrase a little prematurely when we were still twenty minutes away from the top…!).

The view of Gastineau Channel from Mt. Roberts. :)

April has finally begun, which means we are in the final push to the end of our UAS classes (graduation is May 1st)! Lots of final projects and papers and write-ups will be due in the next few weeks, but I’d say I am keeping on top of things fairly well!! My dad even helped me pack up the beautiful house I house-sat this month, and I am all moved back in downtown. :)

The final JAMM session begins today, and we are breaking out into sectionals for each instrument amongst the other awesome classes they will take. Our cellos and basses will be working on the cello ensemble music they will be performing on the 30th! It's going to rock. We have a lot of final concerts to prepare for with JAMM, which will all be in April and May, and the Juneau Symphony also has its performance two weeks from now. Sophia, Lindsay, and I will be flying in the night before the Saturday concert from Ketchikan, where we will be almost all week with our orchestras at MusicFest!

My parents were fascinated with Tlingit culture and form line design!

Speaking of the high school orchestras, I have begun a new round of lessons to prepare my orchestra for our festival performance that involves having my students choose the spots we need to work on in our four pieces. It has been great to pass more of the leadership onto them, and I can see a difference in the levels of engagement and learning. It's so exciting! I've really enjoyed working with my high schoolers, and I'm excited to travel with them by ferry for 36 HOURS a week from Tuesday!! I'm tired just thinking about it. ;)

Having my parents here meant so much to me. It brought me such joy to show them my life and seek guidance from them about my next steps, and we shared a lot of great moments! I am sad to see them go but am ready to work hard to the end! I unfortunately caught a cold over the weekend and have lost my voice for the third time this year, so it will be an interesting balance of trying to catch up on work and rest at the same time! Was it all worth it, though?! OH YEAH!

It is a busy, exciting month, and I am soaking in every minute of it. :)

The view from The Shrine of St. Therese!