A Day Misspent

I like thinking of this Friday as a day misspent. It was misspent wonderfully. Nearly everything that normally characterizes a weekday didn't characterize Friday. With my band I performed in Hershey at the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association conference in Hershey.

I didn't teach. In fact, I spent most of the day quiet, devouring a good book rather than doing a lot of talking. Given my job and role as a father of two rather talkative kids, that made for a very different way to spend a day. That I was reading fiction so much was even a departure: usually it's news that I'm devouring.

Rather than drive myself out to Hershey, I rode with fellow members of the band on a coach bus. I spend enough time alone driving.

I spent a day as an amateur in the midst of professionals. The PMEA conference is geared toward musicians who make a life out of music: teaching, performing, composing, selling and repairing instruments. I didn't have nearly the talent to truly peruse the B.A.C. wares (but I was probably good for the PBone exhibit from Zeswitz).

I spent the day doing something more economic than normal (car pooling) but also something fairly uneconomic (playing an unpaid gig with a not-for-profit ensemble).

Winter is long. March seems even longer. It's a time of year filled with routine for me, and the routine can be grueling relative to other parts of the year (or at least as grueling as it can be in affluent suburban public education). It was wonderful to simply break from that routine for a day. I'm ready now for April.