Typically my weeks rush by in a blur that leaves me wondering exactly what went on the week before. This week was different. We came back home after seminary on Monday to get a few more hours of sleep and then I spent the morning organizing and planning my week. When my friend text me to say my French class had been canceled I decided to go ahead and skip my other two classes and stay home and just catch up. Tom and I finished up several things we had long been procrastinating, and I was able to spend some quality time studying and working on some papers and projects that I have put off. I finished the day, and felt such satisfaction- such peace. I’ve never been one to skip classes, I always felt like if I was going to spend that much money on my education I better go to class. After Monday, however, I wonder if my education would have been more fruitful had I skipped class a little more often. It goes back to that oft quoted statement: “Don’t let school get in the way of your education.” I think of that statement, first told to me by my Dad, often. That is why I decided to go ahead and write a proposal to the Dean of CIM asking for her to permit me to take Italian 201 and 202 as my music electives, rather than doing what they advise and taking modern dance and theater 101. Yet when I talked one of the Assistant deans, she told me that it was very unlikely that such a proposal would be accepted, “As we think our music electives are very important.” Really? Are they really going to tell me that taking yet another dance class, or another conducting class is more important than learning a language fluenty. Now, if I hadn’t taken either of those, sure. I can’t tell you how many times this obsession with rules that has seemed so prevalent at CIM has bothered me. It only makes me appreciate Oberlin all the more. When I decided that I didn’t want to be in the mass choir yet another semester they didn’t give me a lot of trouble when I proposed forming my own ensemble to fulfill the requirement. Why would an insititution of higher education ever restrict a student from going above and beyond?
      Sorry, that was a bit of a tagent, but sums up a lingering frustrating. Anyway, the rest of the week followed similarly, with out evening opera rehearsals I was able to spend some focused quality time on finishing up end of the year projects and getting things in order. For the first time, perhaps this year, I feel on top of things, as far as school goes. It’s a great feeling.
       This week had many delights. First it was sunny almost every day this week (except for a few rainy ones- which I was excited about because I had just planted some grass seed.) Which allowed for three wonderful runs. Ours is a great neighborhood to run in, and there is a beautiful park about a mile and a half away that has a nice trail, with the “Fit Trail” centers, so I ran there and tried that out as well. It feels good to be exercising again.
       Yesterday, Tom set up our iphones so that we could listen to conference on them. (My biggest piece of advice: marry a tech guy!) So I spent the entire day doing three of my favorite things: being outside, weeding and caring for my gardens, and listening to conference. Mmmm! A beautiful day.
     When Tom went to the Priesthood meeting I went with my friend Megan to see “The Barber of Seville” an opera by Rossini. It was very well done, and featured my friend from Oberlin, Alek Shrader. (Mom, he was the one who’s senior recital I took you to see- the fabulous tenor.) It was interesting to talk to some of the other students from CIM who were there because everyone had such vastly different opinions. I really enjoyed the whitty staging and very humorous interpretation. But another girl called it “campy” and was bored throughout. I thought the Figaro was the weakest performer- and she like him best. One girl thought that all the men were “embarrassingly bad” and I thought all but the Figaro held there own. Art is such a subjective thing.
     Oh one more little thing. Yesterday a woman who lives just down the block stopped and introduced herself. She told me how thrilled she was to see us moving in, and how it has been so fun for her to watch the restoration of the house. She even said her sister was here and the two of them saw us painting a couple of times, and she stills asks how things are going with us. She mentioned seeing us outside with “your dog” and seeing us out in the yard. It was just interesting to me because it reminded me that people really are watching. I’m glad that she liked what she saw enough to want to stop and meet me, though I did wonder if perhaps I should consider window treatments.  I was raised without them, and I have never really seen the need for them- except for bedrooms and bathrooms. Do I really have anything to hide? Does it matter that my neighbors know that I sometimes read the ensign when I eat breakfast (on Saturdays) or that I play the piano. Maybe they think I’m crazy because I use my living room to act out my arias. Perhaps they wonder what we are growing in that upstairs window. I’ll admit to being a window gazer, I love looking into peoples windows and trying to learn about peoples’ lives. Why do we feel such a need to close ourselves off from everyone?