Where have you been?

Hi there! It's been a busy few weeks over here at casa de MLM. First I caught the dread cold that everyone at work has had, but managed to perform in our end of the term "concert" with our jazz group on campus. Then we went away for a week to Oregon to visit my family. I have not been out there for 2.5 years, Cooper hasn't been since he was 9 months old and The Bob hasn't been since before Coop was born. So it was time. The flight had me the most concerned, as it is a long ass trip. Turns out Cooper handled better than either of the grown ups. It helped that I had downloaded a bunch of games onto my phone he liked.

The visit went really well. We did all kinds of things - Salem has a lot to offer like a beautiful, well preserved carousel, the A.C. Gilbert Discovery Museum (he invented the erector set among other things. Bob calls him a show off) and at least one vineyard where the grown ups did a wine tasting. We also went to the Evergreen Aid and Space Museum which is great, but fabulously frustrating if you happen to be a 4 year old who wants to sit inside every plane, jet and rocket on display, which is generally frowned upon by the management. The simulator for one of the Gemini launches was mildly satisfying but really, but inside the Spruce Goose, the gigantic plane that Howard Hughes built out of birch and made float on water by using beach balls for flotation devices, you only get to stand in a space about 12 feet by 12 feet. You cannot go anywhere interesting, like down below where they kept the fuel, so Cooper was all "NEXT, what can I touch NOW?.

We came home last weekend, and it is back to reality for a week, and then the holidays hit. I have wrapped NOTHING. I am considering piling everything unwrapped under the tree and letting people sort it out for themselves. No not really.

Last night I performed again with Harvey and Matt in our little trio at the retirement center on campus. We did an hour again. It felt more comfortable than last time, but now Harvey says I need to front more. Which is to say I need to do the chit chat in between songs, introduce the band, etc. I think I need to watch many hours of old Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin shows. I can hold a conversation with anyone, really, I can, but the idea of doing the "Heeeeey, how's it going, where are you folks from, don't forget to tip your waiter" chatter adds another layer of crazy to my brain. He says it should be FUNNY and light, and I am thinking it is hard enough for me to stand there and sing the right words and notes, now you want me to make JOKES?

OY. That is all. OY. I will have to work on it. Just another opportunity to stretch my wings a bit, step out of the comfort zone and grow. Or crash and burn. It is currently a toss up.

Here is hoping you all have a lovely holiday weekend!!