December

Can you believe it's December already? This year has actually flown by. I'm not going to lie, I'm glad November is over; it wasn't my favorite month although there were parts of it that were magical. There were other parts that almost did me in.

I've already started my December with a bang - last night was my Christmas concert. I've sung with a local chorus for the past 3 years and we do 3 concerts a year plus a couple of local holiday (Memorial and Veterans Day) appearances.

I love to sing, it's my #1 passion. Taz definitely supported it, he bought me a keyboard when I first got back into singing and when I joined this current chorus he did a lot of research to buy a special folder to hold all my music during concerts. It's really nice too, everyone asks about it when I use it.

I was definitely thinking of him when I got the folder out and started putting my music in order last night. It wasn't going to be my first appearance without him (that was Veterans Day in November) but it was a big deal going to a concert without him. Always before he'd accompanied me to the rehearsal a couple of hours before the concert and just stayed so he got to hear all our music several times in just a few hours.

The picture above shows me getting ready for the concert. Unfortunately my hair doesn't easily hold a curl so wearing curlers was kind of for nothing. The curls fell out within 5 minutes but it was really cute for those 5 minutes! I consider myself a pretty girly-girl but I have to admit that hair sometimes defeats me.

My singing season isn't quite over yet. We have lined up a few caroling gigs throughout December. Last year, in the midst of all the sorrow, going caroling was about the only normal thing I could do and I clung to it like a lifeline. I barely had any energy, I was drowning in grief, but singing the Christmas carols that Taz loved was the one thing I *could* do. I would show up, sing and then slip out the back before anyone could talk to me. I could barely hold a conversation without crying but I could sing.

This year I'm much better but I still look forward to each caroling event. I even have a couple of special, funny, over the top outfits picked out. Singing brings me joy and it brings joy to the listeners as well. We'll be singing in a couple of retirement homes, to the patrons of a homes tour around town and then, finally, in the hospital.

My beloved god daughters are going to join me at some of the caroling events and I'm thrilled to be sharing my love of music with them.

December and all the joys of Christmas are calling.