January 02nd, 2018

Say Hello to 2018!  And while you are in a greeting frame of mind, say Hello to our niece, Carrie ("Hi Carrie!")  She stayed with us this past weekend.  (She's the young one with hair for days)

​Carrie is a teacher.  She teaches all things music.  Y'know, chorus, band, musical drama performance, individual instruments, other stuff like that.  Pretty awesome.  Her school kids have won all sorts of competitions and a few extra specially talented ones have actually gone on to start careers because of her influence in their lives.  Which makes her one of those teachers that you remember your entire life.  One of the ones who makes a difference.

​She also does musically related things in her other-life.  The ones kids never realize that teachers have.  The one where they are not in the class room or the performance hall.  She also does the music program at her church and another program at Carnegie Hall. Yup THAT Carnegie Hall.  Wow!  And if that wasn't enough,  she just finished getting her second masters degree and is ready to embark on her PhD.  My goodness!

​Needless to say, we had a wonderful time.  We caught up with each other's lives, laughed a lot and ate some good food.  We played Remember for awhile.  you never heard of Remember?  All of your sentences start out with "Remember the time..."  Or "Do you Remember...?"  and "I don't Remember...?"  Oh we all play it when we see someone we have known a long time but don't get to see too often.  And then talked about hopes and dreams.  That's always one of my favourite conversations.  

​Oh dear, the entire reason Carrie spent the time with us was because of this:​

The unfortunate side effect of the kind of dedication she has to her music is carpal tunnel.  She had to have surgery on it to be able to continue with her craft, her art, her career!  Poor baby.  She soldiered through but it was uncomfortable, I know.  She  lives about an hour away and there is no way she should be that far from her doctor so soon after that sort of trauma to the body. And we were delighted to be her home away from home.
 
  Nowadays Carpal Tunnel surgery is considered a "day surgery". On the one hand, I'm glad of that.  Personally, I hate spending time in hospitals, so the less time there the better.  Butm on the other hand, (no pun intended)  it feels kind of factory-like when a person is in, surgeried and then back out in less than three hours.  Like a deli-line,  "Next!"  But we were the lucky ones since her operation was done here in Venice. Tim and I were the perfect candidates to deliver, wait, pick up and then dote upon the patient.  Yay!

​I believe that she is back to school and teaching today but one-handed.  Fortunately she is an adaptable individual and I am certain that she will manage.  Her kids  next performance is in just a few weeks. They are doing, "Grease".  Tim and I will be right there to see it too.