It is a bit of a tired day today, although I am teaching still. I arrived home around 10pm last night and by the time I have unpacked and dealt with an Everest of washing I did not get to bed until midnight.
Normally I am a nightbird, and do all my best writing, thinking and planning in the dark watches of the night. I'm not sure if I was like it as a child, but I put it down in later life to the fact that as a performer you spring into action at 70 mph around 7pm in the evening and then have to wind down after a performance. Of course one can't burn the candle at both ends, so that meant for most of my 20's and 30's I was not a morning person at all - infact I knew no life before about 10am !
Winding down after performing is so important. If you have been 'up and at it' for 3 hours with all guns firing and brain working more overtime than usual it is impossible to sleep. My mind whirred like a well oiled machine for a couple of hours, until fatigue eventually put the breaks on. I can't say what my excuse is now though! I seem to have got to the point where my life candle only has so many burning hours in the day, like cheap tea lights!
So today, will be well paced teaching, so I can spread myself over the whole time, and not short change the end of the day pupils !
My lovely young lady J who usually bursts into my room with all the exuberance of an excited puppy was also very tired today, so we had an unusually staid lesson ! She told me she has been looking after some dogs for the last 3 mornings and has been up at 6am ! No wonder she was too bleary eyed to reach her usual top F sharp! She is singing 'O What a Beautiful Morning' for her Grade 3, which we will take when she is fully ready, and can cope with all the horrid aural and sight reading stuff. Even that song, which she loves, could not lift her to her usual joyful heights!
She is my only pupil who needs another person in the exam room with her - a 'competent adult' is the odd phrase used for this, so I always stay throughout her exam to explain what the examiner wants her to do, if necessary. She has taken, and done so well in her Grades 1 and 2, and I have never needed to speak at all - she is one of my finest achievements as a teacher, she has my complete admiration, and even on tired days I love teaching her.
She promised me not to get up so early next Tuesday!
Equity rules are we start at 10 am, and I am with 'em all the way.
Singers are special, and anyone who scoffs should give it a try!!!
Yawn.....................
No comments:
Post a Comment