Summer drawing to an end...

Whoever said that teachers only work nine months out of the year don't actually know much about the teaching profession. For the average classroom teacher, school lets out at the end of May and pre-school inservice starts in the second week (or third week now) of August. So, that's about two and a half months off. Not bad.

But, being a band director changes your time frame. For me, my contract ends a day or two after the end of the school year and starts near the end of July. That's about a month and a half of vacation. Yep, you're saying, "not bad." But I'm a glutton for punishment.

In June, I get up early in the morning to do my treadmill time (although you can't freaking tell -- another post for another day), then I get right to work on drumline arranging. Somedays I spend between 6 and 10 hours a day working on these arrangements. Now, I'll be the first to admit that working at home in your home office is distinctly different from wearing khakis, a polo shirt and standing in front of a band, but the "work" switch is still flipped to the 'on' position in your head.

Disclaimer: I LOVE arranging music for drumline. I LOVE it and I actively advertise my services. No one is sticking a gun to my head and making me arrange this music. There is something, however, that makes it seem like work some days and not a passion. I'm guessing that that's the case with most things.

June flashes by with the drumline arranging, BUT, I am my own boss during that time and I can decide that I don't want to work a particular day, so I will. We try to use the freedom of June to do fun things or even just things that are out of the usual. Kayla worked VBS at the church. I went to lunch with our pastor and a few of the guys my age a few times and we both would drop in on our grandparents here and there. We even spent a week in Elkhart (Kansas) in a psuedo-family reunion (more on that on Kayla's Family Blog -- link above). The freedom of summer is a blessing.

Now, let's talk about July. Until a friend of mine said this a few years ago, I had never had this thought: "When band camp starts, it's like the signaling of the end of summer." Of course, she is referring to the daddy of all band camps, the WT Band Camp. (wtamu.edu)

It's an honor to be asked to teach there each summer. It's a ton of fun, with lots of time to catch up with friends from college and colleagues from across the state. But, yes, it does signal the end of summer. Again, no one has the proverbial gun to my head. And if I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't do it!

Bittersweet? Definitely. But again, all of this is my choice and I can't complain too much...