Announcements, Avoiding Burnout, Business Best Practices for Music Teachers

Time to Slow the F*** Down and Take a Break

June 29, 2015 Shanta Hejmadi 4 Comments

Slow the f*** down, already Shanta. This is what my life has been telling me this summer. So I’m finally going to take a break. But before I do, I want to tell you the story of why, in hopes that you’ll give yourself permission to slow the *you-know-what* down too.

May: My studio’s piano recital was awesome. We played at a huge church with a 9 foot concert grand piano. My students were awesome. (Videos Here!) The decorations were awesome. The Chocolate Fountain was awesome.

Oh yes, and in the midst of preparing for the recital, I had to get a crown on one of my teeth. Ugh. I mean Yay!

Anyway, after the recital it was BACK TO BUSINESS! I took a badly-needed week off after the recital, and we hit the ground running, or maybe we just hit the ground.

Because, you see, this happened right before Memorial Day.

Yep. I tore my talo-fibular ligament stepping off a step into some soft landscaping stuff. A 10-12 week injury. 6 weeks later, I can barely walk around two blocks. It should be all better around the 1st week of August.

Teaching on crutches was really fun. And by “fun” I mean crappy.

“Slow the f*** down”, my life was saying to me, loud and clear. Did I listen? No! Because there were abandoned newborn Wood ducklings in my yard!

Me, my mom and my neighbors spent a couple hours chasing down 5 of these little cuties. And yes, I was in my boot.

Which brings us to June. A respite, right? NOT. My kid needed to have her front teeth extracted! (long story – an injury 2 years ago).

And, of course, the “pediatric dentist” we took her to was horrible. Yelled at her, didn’t wait till she was numb. It was so bad I may complain to the state dental board. I’ll be lucky if she (or I) can ever have dental work done without a panic-inducing flashback.

Oh, and the end of the schoolyear – always nuts. And swimming lessons! And…. and…..

Oh yeah, my JOB. THAT thing. I’ve still been teaching about 30 students a week this whole time, and trying to hustle up a few new ones.

I actually recorded the penultimate module of my online class. I’m still rewriting the last module on Marketing and Recruitment and feeling guilty that it’s not done.

I haven’t been blogging, which I know probably hurts my website’s stats. More frustration and guilt….

But have I listened about the slowing down yet?

Well, almost.

A close family member was diagnosed with MS a couple weeks ago. Aside from being devastating, it has meant that she needs a lot of support from family as her doctors work to get this attack to subside. We’re hopeful that she’ll be able to live a relatively normal life once it’s under control. And within the next month or two, we can get aquainted with the new normal.

Sheesh. Hey Life! Enough already!

Now, as I get ready for my actual vacation, the ankle has improved. As long as I keep it taped, don’t run, jump, twist, or walk too far or too fast. At 35, I’m a little old lady.

But hey, at least I can climb a ladder now! That means my mom and I can start our annual frenzy of making jam from neighborhood fruit! So far we’ve picked mulberries and cherries, and the raspberries are just starting to come in!

And, on our vacation, we’re going to a wedding! Hooray! Well, yes, I did agree to sing for the outdoor, high-altitude wedding at the last minute with a guitarist whose music reading skills are questionable. But it will be fine, right? I mean, how could anything go wrong with a flower girl in this dress?

So as you can see, something has to give. And, dear ones, I’m afraid it’s you. I need to recharge and recover, and I need to admit that blogging and finishing this class has to go on hold. It’s time for me to take a break. If I don’t, I’ll either a.) make myself sick, b.) re-injure my ankle, c.) lose my edge teaching music to my wonderful students, or ALL THREE.

So here’s the happy ending: I finally got the hint, and I am scaling back for a couple months. Friends, when your life is telling you to take a break, do it.

You’ll hear from me again in the fall! Until then, be well, take care of yourselves, and listen when your life tells you to slow the f*** down!