Accompanist V. Soloist

I have found incredible joy and passion in playing the piano lately. It's undoubtedly because of Elaine, my piano teacher extraordinaire. She's opened a new world of musical possibilities for me, and my weekly lessons are one of the high points of my week. I was asked to play a solo in church a few weeks ago, and so Elaine took time out of our usual Koelling/Beethoven repertoire to give a listen to "If You Could Hie to Kolob." I played it for her, and she said, "You played it like an accompanist, not a soloist." It was not a compliment. The notion of accompanist versus soloist has become a theme in my life for the weeks following.

I like being an accompanist. I'm always learning new music, it teaches me to be a great sight-reader, and most people are very appreciative because not a lot of people are ready and willing to accompany. When I accompany, I follow along. I keep the beat. If the singer makes a mistake, I cover for them so it sounds like they were right and I made the mistake. I take the tempo the conductor or singer wants. I mimic their dynamics. Honestly, the best accompanists are rarely noticed. It's as if I were to say, "Quick! Name a band member of (insert famous singer of your choice here)." You probably can't do it unless you are a diehard fan. Don't get me wrong- I really do like accompanying- but there's no ego allowed, and very little creativity desired.

Solo playing is entirely different, and because of all the years I've spent accompanying, WAY out of my comfort zone. It requires a totally different train of thought. Techniques that work for Becca the Accompanist make Becca the Soloist sound like a robot. Elaine has encouraged me to be creative in the way I treat tempos, dynamics, and other facets of my repertoire. It is an amazing new world for me. Elaine says, "Be a little self-indulgent!" She is so wise. I know that in the past I would play my solo pieces completely differently at home than I would in a performance. At home I felt more emotionally connected to the piece because I would take liberties and play things just the way I wanted, yet, when the time came to perform I would reign myself in thinking that the way I played at home was fun for me, but that no one was really interested in hearing my pregnant pauses or fancy dynamics. I'm breaking out of that shell, and it is so exciting.

I think in life there are times when we all are soloists or accompanists. So much of my life is accompanist territory: being a mother means that frequently what I want or feel takes a backseat. I don't (usually) mind it- I love my family and I want them to be happy. I pretty much toe the line in life: I try to deliver what my family wants, what my religion wants, what the world wants. But sometimes, I need to break out. I think that's why running has been so vital to my mental health: race day is all about me and my performance. I've been leaning into my discomfort with the spotlight, and when I played my solo in church, I played it just like I practiced at home, and just how I felt it inside. Ironically, it was technically one of my best performances, but more importantly, I have never received so much positive feedback about a performance in my life. It's so interesting to me that a soloist perspective that might seem a little self-centered created an emotional response for so many in the audience.

I don't want to be a full time "accompanist." It would turn me into a martyr and a bitter hag. On the flip side, I've dealt with a few full time "soloists" in my day, and dealing with people who think I ought to tolerate their every whim also turns me into a bitter hag. The bottom line is that I need a little of both in my life. It's good for me to learn to set my own needs aside and look out for others, but it's also good for me to hold the star position in my own life every now and again. I hope I can strike the right balance...

Summer Fun

We had a fun week with the Shelton's back in town. Elise and Kate were happily reunited and eager to dress as twins. We went swimming, had swimming lessons, had a tent sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa, played with my cousins, and had dinner with Kay and Jack. It was nonstop excitement.

Alisa, Whitney, Liza, Jamie and Austin, Moi, and McCall.

My nephew Eric celebrated his birthday on Sunday. He had a kitty litter cake which was somewhat shocking to look at, but was delicious to eat.

Summer, please don't end.

George Turns a Hundred

Well, maybe not quite a hundred...but he's getting close.

We celebrated George's birthday with him, Merrilee, Bruce and I, the girls, and the Wynn's. Janet and I have chosen each other as sisters since both of ours live so far away, and George and Merrilee in turn have chosen her kids as their grandkids since the Wynn kids' grandparents are all out of state. Which is why this picture is called:

"George and his grandkids."

No birthday celebration is complete without a talent portion. Lex and Kate showed off their splits. They've been practicing hard in gymnastics and love to show off their mad skills whenever possible. George promised the kids horse rides if they were good. Excitement levels were high.This picture may seem a little gory until I explain that Janet brought strawberry jam.
Behavior was acceptable so the kids lined up for their horse rides. We went youngest to oldest, and Kate thought that was crap.

Justin

Kiki is a real cowgirl. You can tell because of her carefully chosen horse riding footwear...

...Monkey Slippers.

Then Kyle and Lex had their turns.

And, last but not least.

Janet and I couldn't resist the opportunity to have a photo taken by George's picturesque new fence.

The kids played croquet. We counted ourselves lucky that no one took a blow to the face, because it seemed almost inevitable.

I'm so pleased with the way my family has expanded. I know some define it more narrowly, but I'm happy to call such a large group "Family." Of course it has my own parents and siblings, and now Bruce and the girls, but I love that I can also count my bonus sibs, my in-laws, and close friends as family. I think our hearts have an unlimited ability to love, and I love being surrounded by these amazing people.

I Heart Cheese

I have mentioned many times before how much I love our neighborhood, and the love affair continues this summer. My friend Steph has organized weekly jaunts for the kids: to local parks, the copper mine, and last week we went to Heber Valley Artisan Cheese in Midway.

It's hard to understate my love for cheese.

Not like slices of American because that's sick, but good cheese.

Kiki loves cheese in all varieties, and Kate loves hanging out with her neighborhood friends, so it was foreordained that we would have a good time.

I think this about half of the kids who went. Our tour guide was nonplussed by so many children, to her credit.

My kids were fascinated by the dairy farm and the cheese making.

The squeaky cheese and ice cream at the end made it extra worth it.

I bought a Finnish cheese named "juustilipa" which you have to pan fry or broil before eating.

I'm totally saving it until I make the perfect bread to go with it and I'm not kidding.

Cheese nerds, unite!

Maternal Instinct

Kiki loves dinosaurs and dragons.

She loves alligators, turtles, and sting rays.

Instead of babies or barbies (which she owns almost none of), she collects her animals.

She talks to them in baby talk and cuddles them.

She loves what most would find unlovable.

Which is fortunate for me personally.

Fourth Of July Weekend

It was a big weekend for my niece- she was getting baptized. We, along with many others, traveled to Pocatello for the big event.

She had to be dunked twice. I tried to tell her that it was because she'd been such a bad sinner in the first years of her life, but she just sighed and said, "Aunt Becca!" in a tone that clearly indicated she thinks I'm ultra-lame.
We were happily reunited with Kate. It had been a very quiet week with her away.
She and Kiki played like champs for at least 10 or 11 minutes before descending into a two day argument.

I was a little sick of it on the way home- the whining was really reaching its peaks when we still had 40 minutes between us and home. I started turning the stereo up loud enough that I couldn't hear them. "Mom!" they cried, "You are hurting our ears so bad!"
I told them that their whining was hurting my ears even worse.
I really must replace their broken DVD player- it would have saved us a lot of heartache.

On Monday we went to a hot air balloon festival in Provo.
There was some excitement when a medical helicopter took off from the field.

As luck would have it, Bruce works with a gal whose family owns Balloons West- they do the Bank of American Fork balloons- so we got to be right in the action helping get the piggy bank balloon up.

Bruce lost a little leg hair when the "burning" started, but that only added to the feelings of fun and danger!

Look close...Bruce and girls are right by the basket.

The weather was too unpredictable for any balloons to actually lift up, but it was still beautiful.

When the wind picked up, it got really exciting since balloons just started falling over.

The morning ended like most mornings around here...

...with Bruce gesturing wildly and screaming, "RUN!"

Three is More Than Two. Also, One is More Than Two.

The day after Elise went home to Pocatello, Lola came to visit.

We were so excited, and she was so good.

We hiked with our neighbors.

Kiki hates the stinkin' paparazzi.

We went to breakfast at McDonald's and then to the Strawberry Days Parade with the Wynn's.

We lived it up for four solid days. Soon after Lola left, the Shelton's were back.

We played at the awesome splash pad in Alpine. Then they took Kate home with them for a week in Idaho.

This picture screams, "Summer!" to me.

I've realized this: Three kids is a lot of work compared to two: not necessarily in the "Physical Needs Department" (what's 3 lunches when you are already making 2, or 3 heads of hair to wash, or 3 pairs of shoes to find?). It was the "Emotional Needs Department" that had me a little stressed...When you have 3 kids, someone is ALWAYS mad. Either they are left out, or the other two are BFF's, or someone only wants to sit by someone else- it goes on and on. Facts are that I only can hold two hands, only two fit in my lap, only two fit in shopping carts. I assumed the role of "Constant Consoler" for two solid weeks. When Liza took Kate home leaving me with just Kiki, I mistakenly assumed that one kid would be a snap. Not so much. Kiki, despite my efforts to provide her with 24/7 excitement, was so insanely bored! I took her swimming, to the aquarium, on picnics, and she still told me, "I miss Kate as much as this whole world." She needed her playmate I guess. Although we won't ever turn away a guest, two is the perfect number for us.

Team Kaye

My Aunt Kaye is fighting lung cancer right now, so when the local hospital held a 5k/Half Marathon as a fund-raiser for cancer treatments, about 20 of my cousins and their spouses signed up. Liza and I originally signed up for the half-marathon, but I guess we are getting old because both of us had nagging injuries, so we switched to the 5k.

Here are a whole bunch of Barratt's at the 5k start.

Bruce and our friend Chris ran the half. Bruce killed his PR and loved the course (out of AF Canyon). I am counting on joining him next year.

After the race we all got together for breakfast.

My Aunt Susan, Aunt Kaye, and cousin Laurie

Me, Liza, Aunt Sue, Jamie, Becky, Alisa, and Malin

Thanks to multiple chip timing errors, Liza and I received no official time. It seemed fine until Liza looked at the online results and realized she and I were first (her) and second in our age group. We might be feeling a little ripped off.