Two-week Whirlwind

It was a two-week whirlwind for me beginning with my mother being taken to the emergency room for abdominal pain. Soon afterward a nasogastric tube was inserted through her nose, down her throat, and down into her stomach with a suction machine attached. Little did we know the tube would remain with her for 11 days. Two days after being admitted, she had surgery to remove adhesions that were wrapped around her small intestine. A few hours later, the doctor determined she was bleeding internally and had a follow-up surgery to remove her spleen. Several days later, and after 4 units of blood, she was moved to a regular room where she began to recover from the ordeal. Her internal organs took longer to "wake up" than anticipated resulting in an extended hospital stay. On Monday she went home and is doing well.

With the passing of my father several years ago, the responsibility to look out for my mother rests primarily on me. In normal situations, she is more than capable of taking care of herself--in good health, with her own admirable career, good decisions, etc. But in times of difficulty, in a world where no one is sure who is responsible, families should probably assume their role in taking care of their own. Luckily, during this hospital stay, her many friends including a special male friend added considerable care, relieving me from feeling as though I should be there most of the time. In retrospect, it was not all that difficult and in fact I did enjoy spending time with my mother, although the seeds of concern remained throughout her hospital stay.

In addition, we had band camp at Howard Payne last week. Our camp has a 35 year history that demonstrates how adjusting to market needs can encourage success. For many years our camp was designed as a camp for flags and drum majors. It was a fine camp that ran as many as 125 with the average being around 85 or 90 each year. About 12 years ago, we decided to experiment with a drum-line camp and to try an actual band during the week. We saw almost immediate growth and the camp went from 1 band to 4 bands plus a jazz band with a total of over 400 people. Of course, that kind of growth creates many other challenges including staffing, insurance, facility usage, and general space. Yet, the rewards have been immense and we look forward to many more years of the Howard Payne University Band Leadership Camp (www.bandleadershipcamp.com). As an aside, it occurred to me this year during band camp that the teachers are committed to imparting musical and educational goals to the students, but the students, in contrast, are committed to finding a boyfriend or girlfriend for the week! Can these two seemingly incongruous goals coexist during a week? Certainly.

Meanwhile, I have accepted a temporary part-time music minister position at a Baptist church in a nearby community. While I am excited about being a music minister once again, I have also decided to tread carefully and conservatively as I enter the world of church music and the inevitable worship wars over what kind of music to use in worship. I think I will draw on my knowledge, my personality, my eclecticism, and mostly spiritual enlightenment to select music for worship. I will let my readers know how things are going. Right now I feel very positive about it.

And so, the two tough weeks are over and it is time to progress forward with writing music, reading, studying, practicing, thinking, and spending time with my family. Such is the life of an eclectic scholar who enjoys dabbling in a variety of experiences.