Choir Director

We had our Christmas Program today. And it went remarkably well, considering that I was the director. You see, I have this style of leading where the choir learns they'd better know their parts really well, 'cause I won't be bringing them in or cutting them off. At least, not consistently.
We sang three songs: "Wexford Carol" (one of my all-time favorites), "No Room, No Room" by Sally de Ford, and a Medley of "Joy to the World, Angels We have Heard on High, and Silent Night." The first two I am showing links for, because they were written or arranged by people who are so kind as to let you download and print these beautiful arrangements for FREE!

I was also in charge of the rest of the program, so I asked people in the ward to read some of my Dad's Christmas skits. He has such a way of making the people from the scriptures seem real. And he also has a way of making you laugh and cry in the same minute. The laugh gets your guard down and then the spiritual side stabs you right through the heart. And it feels good.

How grateful am I that these wonderful people stood by me and kept coming to practice after practice? Well, if you want to know how wonderful they are, just consider that they kept coming, even after I said the following:

(In my defense, here is what I was thinking--"All our regular pianists are coincidentally gone on the same day and poor Michaela, who is only 14, is stuck trying to help us learn our parts while our incompetent director (me) struggles to remember that those are called measures, not verses." But here is what I said---)

"We have so many talented people in this ward and all of them are gone today."

Luckily, their reaction was to tease me mercilessly--especially Brother Hillstrom (Michaela's Dad). Had there been a stunned silence, I'm sure it would have been all over.

And now it is! I'm so relieved.

One sad thing happened--Lissa started throwing up at 2:00 this morning. (Anderson joined in the fun around 8:00.) So we had to ask Maddie Compas to take her part. She did a great job, too. All the readers did. And the string quartet. And Nathan Baker with his flute solo. And the primary kids and their bell choir!

Hooray! It's over!
Now is the part where I come down with some kind of illness. It always happens after the stress lets off. But then, with Christmas so close, I'm still feeling stressed, a little. . .