Composing the seasons/publicity

It's an oddity of writing that in the gray, purple heart of Lent I am hard at work on Christmas pieces.

During Advent I got the idea to write a collection of Christmas carol arrangements. However, being overburdened with time (HA!), I managed to complete exactly one, and that one not until after we had taken down the Christmas tree--mind you, we leave our tree up all the way through Epiphany.

Now I'm setting a goal of writing one every other month for a year. That way I'll have my collection ready by next Christmas. Ready to play, anyway.

Incidentally, we now have copies in hand of "Times and Seasons" for flute/piano (GIA)and "Go In Peace" for assembly use (WLP). I have to admit, when I saw my name on the covers of those two publications, it actually took my breath away for a moment--cliche as that sounds. It was akin to holding your baby for the first time. You know a lot about the baby before it gets here--but there's nothing quite like that first sight, that first touch.

Christian is a superb publicist. He has gotten me in the newspaper. Technically, that will be next weekend, but we've done the interview already.

I'm doing a lot more publicity for my music than I did for "The Beggar's Queen." I'm in my element here--I sound intelligent when I talk about music. And I know a whole lot more people, so I've been able to send emails around the country. Whether that makes a difference in sales remains to be seen.

Spring?

It is the 23rd of February and I don't think it's gotten above freezing for over a week. The "normal" high for this time of the year is about 45 degrees in mid-Missouri. I'm getting seriously stir-crazy. Especially since I've been confined to home with two very small children for most of the last 3 days because of ice, sleet, and oh, a dusting of snow, not enough to go sledding.

And yet yesterday when I went to get the mail, I heard spring birds. Lots of them. I stopped in the driveway and listened for a few seconds as my whole body seemed to take a breath and relax.

Any day now, God. Any day.

And as long as I'm posting...

I have been entirely too gloom and doom lately about my daughter's development or lack thereof.

Julianna is doing great. Over the weekend she learned to play peekaboo and scoot herself backward on the Pergo, and last night at dinner she nonchalantly popped a piece of chicken into her mouth while we weren't paying attention. Stinker, she knows exactly what to do, she just doesn't want to do it yet!

Yes, dear heart, you are a stinker. But I love you madly anyway.

P.S. In "Dear Annie" two nights ago, Christian found a letter from somebody who was uncomfortable around a customer with a "mental disability." "Annie" told them that his touchy-feely flirting was part of his "illness." Christian just about went through the roof. I told him it wasn't worth writing to them about, anyway. But now I'm wondering.

For liberals and conservatives, in an election year

This is a really thoughtful column on the strengths and weaknesses of liberalism and conservatism--particularly within the Catholic Church, but I think that the lessons apply much more broadly. It is long, but if you can take the time I think you'll find it worthwhile.

I'd post the entire text, but I'm not sure that's legal, so I shall err on the side of caution and simply give you the web page, which I think you'll have to cut and paste, unfortunately:

http://uscatholic.claretians.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=12107&news_iv_ctrl=0&abbr=usc_

Of Julianna, and planning for the third

Lately we've been discussing how long to wait before we try to conceive again. I'm 33--no great age, but my mother had her last at 33, so it's on my mind. Because I'll be having a C-section, Julianna has to be able to walk before the next baby comes. At 6 months, when she was sitting up, we were sure that she was going to be close to walking by a year.

And of course, she's not even crawling. In fact, she's not even transitioning into and out of sitting. (Actually, she started this weekend. She had a good developmental weekend.)

So now I wonder if our plans for a baby a year or so from now are too optimistic. And in my fears, I also realize that I'm harboring deep fear, insecurity and guilt. I am the primary "therapist" in the family, and I feel like I don't do enough work with her. So I think it's my fault that she's not developing more quickly.

This entry is not coming together well, so I think I'll err on the short side. A wonderful man at church this morning told me that God would provide. And he can say that, because he has a child with DS who is 1 year and 2 weeks older than her younger sister.

Easy to view from the outside--now that both of his kids are grown.

Harder to imagine trying to live through.

Cute almost-three-year-old moments of the week

--"Mommy, did God gave you an Alex to chew on?"
(These kids do pick up on the littlest things we ever say! ;) )

--"Our Fadder, who art in Heaven, hawowed our, be, howowed be our name. Mommy, why do we say daily bread?"
(Because that's how we ask God for all the things we need. Like our food...)
"Like 'teak and peas and peaches and ah-keem and aca-oni keez?"
(Yes, like those. And a place to sleep, and clothes to wear, and...)
"And someone to wuv us!"
(I love being this kid's mommy. Sniff sniff.)

Small triumphs

This morning, Julianna grabbed a cloth napkin from the table beside her and proceeded to play peekaboo for 15 minutes.

A small triumph, to be sure, but a triumph nonetheless!