The people that seem to know these sorts of things tell us, “we learn and grow more in our difficult times than we do in the easy times”. If that is the case, then I have probably learned and grown a great deal this past year. Lets see, what have I learned…
- I learned how to sing with a mask. And I learned that the hardest part of singing with a mask is, unexpectedly, the breathing in. Because you need to breathe in quickly, to get ready for the next phrase. And I learned that the medical masks work best. The cloth masks all collapse into my mouth when I breathe in.
- I learned that people in long-term care do not care if I am wearing a mask when I sing. I thought they would miss my beautiful, smiling face. Nope. They were just fine to listen. Huh.
- I learned that streaming online is a way to reach lots of people in real time. and I can sing for someone in Ottawa at the same time as I sing for someone in Williams Lake. Cool. And they can send me song requests in real time. Double cool.
- I learned that there are people who really love to dive into techy things. God bless those people!
- I learned that eating with someone is significant. I knew that. And it became more real this year. We’ve had to stop eating with residents in long-term care, for covid 19 safety reasons. And it is a sad moment, when you have to tell a friend, that you can’t share Christmas baking together.
- I learned that you can bless people by putting up signs and pictures and messages on your living room window.
- I learned about building capacity. There was no way I could work with a mask on. And I could. There was no way I could do this for months. And I could. Makes you wonder…if someone said I had to, and I was required to…what could I do? 🙂
