Comings and goings

There have been a lot of comings and goings in my life, home and studio this year. Son #1 moved home a year ago after having lived on his own for three years; he finished his last semester and graduated from college, got a job, and is now saving for a car and apartment while paying off school loans. Daughter #1 graduated from college two weeks ago (Daughter #2's account of that event is here), has a summer job in Marquette, Michigan and is apartment hunting in Milwaukee, where she'll be in grad school in the fall. Daughter #2 was home for three weeks following her first year of college, and last Monday we delivered her to Camp Onomia for a summer working as a camp counselor. Son #2 is the constant here at home, at least for the next three years.

In my studio, I've enjoyed an 'aging' of my students over the past couple years. More kids persevered through their middle school slump and went on to continue their music through high school. It's a hard age -- greater demands on their time from all sides -- homework, sports, activities, a first job. It's amazing that any of them continue their music study through the middle school minefield. The fun part for me as a teacher of middle and high school students is that I get to reap the benefits of all the investment of their early years. At this point, they know how to practice, they understand the cause and effect of time put in and beautiful music emerging. We're working on beautiful masterworks together. It's all good.

But it's hard to say goodbye when the seniors graduate. I had two seniors this year. One had studied with me since she was eight, the other just for the past three years. I loved working with them both, being able to transition from the role of teacher, guiding their every step and selecting every piece of repertoire, to that of coach and mentor, giving them independence, selecting repertoire together, guiding them to personal interpretations of the music based on their own depth of knowledge and musical experience.

I also said goodbye to a couple middle school students who sat with their parents, took an honest look at their commitments and dreams, and decided that their high school years would be focused on some dreams other than piano. As hard as it is to say goodbye to students who've been with me six years or more, I always respect and appreciate the intentionality of their decisions. Much better to go out on a high note, having put their best efforts into their final performances, than to slink out the back door feeling like they'd hung on six months too long.

So there's some room in the studio for a few new students this summer or fall. Or, perhaps there's room to downsize a little. Something to think about as I'm moving my own kids in and out.