A Better Day

Yesterday was a much better day. I got a good night's sleep. Classes went well. I didn't have to do any laundry. :)

After classes, I went for a walk around the Central Park Reservoir and cleared my head. While I was walking, I whispered a couple prayers, listened to my favorite music and just soaked in the beauty of the water, the park, the city skyline all around me. Flowers were blooming at the entrance to the reservoir at 90th St and 5th Ave, and I breathed in their scent. It made me smile. All was well with the world, and I was in love with the city again.

As I was walking, I started to think about our friends Roger and Deb. Roger and Jeremy used to work together, and he and Deb are two of the most incredible, life-loving and hospitable people I have ever met. Dinner parties at Roger and Deb's house are evenings spent among true friends, eating the most amazing food you've ever had in your life! Last fall, Roger suffered a stroke. He is making incredible strides, but obviously recovery is slow and steady. He's not 100% back to his old self. The two of them are really kind of cute about the whole thing. When Jeremy and I visit with them, Deb will talk about Roger's recovery and physical therapy, all the milestones he is reaching. She is very positive. The glass isn't just half full, it is overflowing! She will say that Roger can walk XYZ distance on his own or that he is typing and sending his own emails, etc. Roger will sit there and shake his head or say "no" and really kind of play down his progress.

One night after leaving their home, Jeremy and I were talking. He said he wondered who was being the most accurate about Roger's progress. I ventured to say that the answer was probably somewhere in the middle.

In Voice & Speech class yesterday. We had to get up in front of the class one at a time, say our name and speak a few sentences. The rest of the class listened with their eyes closed. After each student was finished, the rest of the class talked about what they heard...the quality if the voice, what adjectives came to mind, how old or young did that person sound, etc. When I had finished in front of the class, I was amazed at the feedback I heard. It was very positive, which was nice. What amazed me was the class said things about my voice that I never would have thought of myself. (It's so true that we never see or hear ourselves quite the same as other people see and hear us.)

One student said she thought my voice had really great range. That kind of tickled and perplexed me at the same time. I don't think of my speaking voice as having a particularly great range. The first day of Voice & Speech class, we had to list our goals or the areas we most wanted to work on. Increasing my range was #1 on my list...my biggest vocal criticism of myself. So, how did this person listen to my voice and hear really great range? Have I been selling myself short? Perhaps a little. Do I still have a lot of work to do? Absolutely. Increased vocal range is still my #1 goal with this class. I still may not think of myself as having "great" range, but maybe my starting point isn't as bad as I thought it was. Maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle.