Slowly but surely things are coming together for us here. I've finally managed to make a friend or two, and the kids are starting to really like it here. A few days ago Emerson told me that he's starting to forget what our house in Indiana looked like--that's kind of bittersweet to hear. It helps that one not insignificant addition to our household has been the grand piano that I've been itching for ever since we arrived. In a house like ours it is amazing what a piano can do for morale. I've gotten back into the habit of teaching at least our kids for now, and am considering adding a couple of friends to the pack so that I'm teaching in classes instead of one-on-one again.
It also didn't hurt that Aaron hooked me up with something that looks sort of like job for the month. One of his four jobs is playing for church services at a Lutheran church nearby. During Lent they are holding weekly Wednesday evening services which Aaron can't play for because they conflict with one of his Children's Choir rehearsals. He tapped me to fill in for him, and although it made me extremely nervous the first time, I've found them to be a really lovely mid-week spiritual lift, in addition to the fact that making a little bit of money makes me feel like I'm actually contributing something to the world. Although coordinating getting Asher to mutual on Wednesdays has been a challenge, and I'm a little more nervous leaving the other kids home without him (wait, that's not entirely true--there's less fighting without him), things have gone well so far. Personally, I've always been a bit of a fan of Lent, so I'm going the extra mile on this: I've decided to give up social media for the season--an especially hard fast when it's sometimes the only connection I feel in the world. However, I'm hoping that taking a break from it will force me out of my (currently uncomfortable) comfort zone and help me to better navigate life here.
I've been continuing to try to find a routine and structure for my days with mixed results. I admit to complaining quite a lot about people not picking up after themselves lately. Being in a new place does make it a little harder--none of us are entirely clear on where everything belongs yet--but I bristle at the sometime expectation that the fact that I don't have a "real job" makes me the de-facto maid. On more than one day, the kids have gotten home from school only to be banished to their bedrooms until things look respectable. A few weeks ago we finally set up Emerson's new bed, and eventually decided to move Asher back up there with him. There have been a few bumps in the road, but overall I've been pleased to see both boys respond to it better than I expected. I think that deep down they, like me, crave the companionship and camaraderie that come with sharing a room with someone else, and hey, one less bedroom to hassle people to keep clean.
On the more pleasant side of things, Aaron and I have started going on occasional lunch dates, since nearly all his evenings seem to get sucked into the vortex of rehearsals and concerts. Though we began with the intention of checking out all the local taco shops, it didn't take us long to find one we really like and keep returning to--Senor Pancho's, where they have fantastic shrimp tacos. We've dodged out for the occasional evening dinner on a Saturday as well, but with Aaron's early Sunday start, the taco shop tours seem to be the better bet for togetherness.
The best bit of togetherness of all, however, came at the end of the month, when my dad flew into town with his girlfriend Jan to take care of our kids while Aaron and I headed for Chicago. The choir at the school where Aaron co-directs with another teacher had received top honors at a competition last year, and had been invited to a festival in Chicago to perform in Orchestra Hall. I was invited along as accompanist. We had a wonderful time! I very much enjoyed the students from Pacific Ridge, who were all mature and well-behaved throughout the tour. It was interesting to note the changes in climate as we flew from San Diego to Chicago--it was really green here, and much less so there. I embraced the opportunity to wear my cute red coat and my grey flapper hat and all manner of sweaters and boots--my wardrobe is still better suited to a Midwestern climate than a Californian one. We walked the Magnificent Mile, enjoyed some time at Millenium Park, ascended to the top of the Willis/Sears Tower (which I had never done), ate deep dish pizza and Chicago hot dogs, and even went on a Chicago mafia "Untouchables" tour. I had to hold myself back from spilling out all the juicy stories I know about the rise of jazz and how much Al Capone did to fund it, creep that he was, but I couldn't help sharing the one about Fats Waller being kidnapped at gunpoint and delivered to Al Capone only to discover that his talents were desired for Capone's birthday celebration. When they finally dropped him off three days later he was so drunk he couldn't stand up, but his pockets were stuffed with thousands of dollars in tips! I could have gone on to various and sundry stories about Louis Armstrong and Lil Hardin and Joe Oliver, but I managed to bite my tongue.
It was nice to get a real break from household duties as well. When there's nothing to break the monotony of cooking and cleaning, I become quite disagreeable and feel like I'm hemorrhaging hours of my life. Taking a break allows me to regain perspective, and it was much needed. Of course the point of the whole trip was the performance in Orchestra Hall, and it couldn't have been more fun! Although the choir sang three numbers, I played for only one, so the accompanying stress level was quite low (aside from the fact that there was nowhere for me to play through the music in advance). It was quite a treat to play on the same stage where every great American artist in the last 120 years has played. The piano was a pleasure to play, and it felt a little surreal to be there. The choirs sang beautifully, and ended up being the top scorer for their category, giving them the opportunity to sing at an additional concert that evening. It was a privilege to be a part of their performances.
We came home to freshly re-organized cabinets and a sparklingly clean car, thanks to my dad and Jan, and the kids could not stop talking about how much fun they had had. It turns out that there are perks to living a bit closer to family, particularly in a place that nobody has objections to visiting from time to time. Thanks, you guys!
