The Cure for Blogstipation

Hey you guys.

First of all, if you're getting this via email, it means I've decided to keep you on my Friends & Family email list. I deleted over 70 people from my list that never respond to or email me, and of course those who have openly criticized my e-missives. (Leslie, that was a great suggestion...thanks...)

So now, I feel much less of a need to censor myself for those I wasn't sure liked my writing. And plus, if anyone I've deleted ever really wants to know what I'm up to, they can always visit my blog online.

Is it my imagination, or do women, much moreso than men, get more flack in public forums for expressing their feelings openly and without shame or apology? I am asking based on my own observances and experiences, of course, so please do not take offense if your experience has been different. I'd really love to hear your side of this. Maybe it will make me feel better about the standing of and respect of women in the world. I just get the feeling that women's opinions - and their right to express them, and to actually have them heard and valued - are often ignored.

From my experience, it's worse in settings (which I won't name, again at the risk of offending - it's only my own personal history, after all) where the expectations of women are solely for them to look nice and to take care of everyone. I feel extremely fortunate to have secured a job and to have forged my own community where appearance and caretaking aren't the primary things for which women are valued.

It's always amazing to me how much positive feedback I always get from my true friends when I send out what I fear is a potentially contentious or negavite email venting frustrations. I got dozens of encouraging, supportive emails, and I cannot thank you enough for them. Mary Beth (who coined the term "blogstipation", as in what my critics were suffering from, in hers - hysterical!), Jenn, Leslie, Jack, Sheri, Jane, Tamara, Mimi, Eric, and Michelle...your responses were particularly wonderful and insightful. They made me feel better. I will, indeed, not be silenced!! (As if you were ever worried...)

So the summer is close to being officially over, is it not? The kiddos have gone back to school, the weather is becoming cooler, and orchestras are kicking up their seasons in full swing. Next Tuesday is our first day back at work! I am both excited and nervous - excited to see everyone and to play great music in a fabulous group of musicians again, nervous about my solo because I haven't played the piece with an orchestra before. And I'm also planning to stand (as opposed to sitting) and to play from memory. This should make for much more spontaneous, free performances, and I think it'll look better too.

This summer has been the best I've had in a long time for the sole reason that it has been completely stress free (with the exception of our 2 week road trip back in July). It is the first summer since I moved here that I haven't had a huge life change to go through and process - 2003 = moving to Mke., adjusting to new horn and job, 2004 = planning a wedding and getting married, 2005 = searching for, buying, and moving into our first house. This summer was blissfully settled and full of free time to practice, listen to music, nest around the house, garden, draw, and watch movies (I've become a Netflix addict!!).

I've also been reading a lot. Here're some of my recent reads with their amazon.com links for more info:

• Four Spirits, by Sena Jeter Naslund, was an engrossing slice of life historical fiction novel based on the 1960's civil rights movement in Birmingham, AL. I loved the way she wrote from the perspectives of many different characters in the book, from black children to klansmen. Fabulous.
• Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown, was at least 20x better than his famed DaVinci Code - I thoroughly adored the blending of mystery/thriller/art & culture in this fast paced read.
• I blew through James Patterson's 3rd Degree and 4th of July, the 3rd and 4th respectively in his Women's Murder Club series, with relish - I just love getting to know and then following the same characters through their crime-solving escapades. And hey, speaking of Patterson, his Honeymoon was absolutely riveting in its murderous thrill. I just love that guy - he knows how to take you for a ride!!
• I have joined the Buddhist study and meditation group at my church, in which I feel more at home spiritually than I ever have in my life. The peace and joy I've found in A Path With Heart by Jack Kornfield is just indescribable. It's written from a Buddhist perspective, but it's universal in its wisdom and cites Christian, Jewish and Sufi parallels throughout the book. If you're feeling overwhelmed by or stymied by life's challenges, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Movies I've watched and enjoyed lately, courtesy of my Netflix account: Multiplicity with Michael Keaton (it was funnier watching it with you, Dana!! I totally thought of you the whole time #4 was making me laugh!!), In Her Shoes with Cameron Diaz (I loved Jennifer Weiner's book that it was based on), and Monster In Law with Jennifer Lopez. I also watched Rumor Has It with Jennifer Aniston and thought it was one of the stupidest plot lines I've ever encountered. (Aniston's character: "Gee, I know this complete sleaze of a man slept with my mother and my grandmother, but maybe I'll sleep with him too, and then whine about it for the rest of the movie..."....blech.)

In theaters, David and I have seen and highly recommend A Prairie Home Companion (the movie), Wordplay (a hysterical behind-the-scenes movie about crossword puzzles, the freaks who can do them in ridiculously small time brackets, and the geniuses that create them), and Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. All were brilliant, fun, and intellectually stimulating.

Hey, enjoy the beautiful transition from summer into fall...and write to me and let me know how you're doing, okay? I'd love, as always, to hear from you.

XO Love,

Darcy