My "just me and myself only" cup is feeling full again.

Apparently, I think that I can do it all. In the midst of giving my upstairs bathroom a little lipstick (well - make that a face lift) redo, I got a call from the New American Philharmonic needing a substitute flute player. Even though I knew that I would have to get a babysitter for most of the rehearsals and performances, I could not say no. The bathroom got put on hold and I danced off to play with the symphony.

Symphony + me = true love

Ahhh...pure bliss for me.

If just playing with the symphony wasn't enough, I also got to play a fantastic piccolo part (Thank you to Lorinda for letting me borrow her handmade Haynes picc! It was lovely!), I got to reunite with three of my best college friends Erin, Justin and Holly. It's amazing how different our lives are now. Imagine Peace Corp, living in New York, performing with Ballet West/Utah Symphony/Salt Lake Symphony etc., Master degrees and such compared to my child rearing days.

I find myself at the end of a whirlwind the last two weeks were feeling my "just me and myself only" cup refilled. A bonus for taking some time to be challenged and rising to the opportunity, I learned a few things.

1. I love being a mother to my three children. I love being a wife to my sweet husband. I am grateful for my life and my experiences these past ten years.
2. I realized that I really do have a real talent and it is one of the things that define who I am now not as something that I used to do.
3. It's just like riding a bike, you never forget. It's been ten years since I played with a symphony and ten years since I played a piccolo. While sight reading the first night, I turned the page and discovered my piccolo part. I turned to the principal flute Lorinda needing a piccolo. She tossed me hers and I dove right in right there with no warning. This was invigorating! Even though I have continued to play with the flute choir and teach flute lessons, I haven't had to challenge myself for quite a while.
4. I figured out how to practice efficiently. I was able to learn five symphonies in just a few short days with limited practice time.
5. I do better when I enjoy myself. The Principle flautist for Ballet West shared with Holly her philosophy for performing. She tells herself that she won't make mistakes. (You must know that Jane is a machine. She is amazing!) Holly laughed and said "Good for you, but for the rest of us humans...". Over the years, I've learned that people aren't listening for mistakes and they usually don't hear them. When I didn't worry about myself and just enjoyed the audience enjoying the ballet, I played my best.
6. I am hungry for more!

Now I am back to the daily grind, trying to force myself to get the bathroom finished (don't worry, I will share the afters) apologizing for the delay on several custom orders (Don't worry girls! You will have your new tassels this week.), and neglecting the blog and the shop. You see, even though I think that I can do it all, I can't. Especially all at the same time! :)