Keeping a Sense of Humor During Moments of Spectacular Inadequacy

7/1/22

Hello Wonderful Person!

What’s new and hopeful for you today? 

(I do care and would love to hear {or read??] from you in the comment section at the bottom of the post if you’d like to share.)

Did a couple of different ‘pushing out of my comfort zone’ things this week.  One had decent success and the other was a spectacular failure but there’s too much to laugh at (and learn from) to hide it in shame.

First, for the positive accomplishment I had some ladies over the other day for lunch and fellowship.  Had no idea how many would show up; anywhere from 2 – 20, but didn’t stress about it much  (Shockingly enough!!!!) 

 On the morning of I had to take my rabbit, Alice, to a different vet (he’s been having health issues that the regular vet could no longer help with).  The appointment was for two hours before the people were due to arrive, but the vet was running an hour behind and I ended up getting back home when others were pulling into the driveway.

(Okay, so I did start mentally hyperventilating a leettle bit then.  And again a little later when most of the ladies had arrived and it occurred to me this was at my house so I could neither escape for a few nor leave early.)  (Shhhh, don’t tell them that, ok?)

But that urge quickly passed and ended up having a good time, and I think the 13 others did, too.  And the bonus was, they’d all brought food to share and helped clean up before they left!  Woo hoo!

Then God chose to keep me humble with the next day’s adventure . . .

Been attending folk music jam sessions regularly for a few months now, in a town about 30 miles away.  I haven’t been participating, but was always hoping to work up the courage to bring a guitar and join in the fun ‘the next time’.  At the last session a kind guitar playing lady, ‘A’ took me under her wing and told me it was time to start bringing an instrument, and that they also had a jam session coming up that was only about ten minutes from where I live.  ‘A’ said the members from that group met with other ‘like’ musicians from this area and so there’d be more people, and I assumed that meant, even more guitar players so therefore more to learn from, and more ‘to drown out my playing’.  (Or perhaps a better way to put it would be, ‘so hopefully no one would notice I was too nervous to remember how to play legitimate chords so therefore not actually touching the strings while faux strumming.’)

And, a lady at the gathering at my place, ‘C’ brought her guitar and played a couple of songs for us here.  She said she was going to go to the jam session for her first time, too, and she talked about how much fun we’ll have together as we would find out what we can learn and do.

Why would I doubt her???

I had the usual weekly guitar lesson before the local meet up, and that poor teacher!  I had no idea how nervous I was until while walking into the practice room I dropped the guitar, then picked it up and proceeded to ask a question about the capo and while putting it on didn’t open it fully and dragged it over the strings and shoved them out of place.  

The teacher so patiently took the guitar out of my hands before I did more damage to it, took the capo off and put the strings right, tuned it, then plugged it into the amp since I forgot to do that.  (It’s an electric acoustic guitar.)

Finally occurred to me I wasn’t as calm and cool as I thought, and so stated the obvious by mentioning “I’m stressing out about the folk music jam session after this.”  Have no idea if what I heard from him was a brief chuckle or the crunch of his eyes rolling since I was afraid to look directly at him to see what he was really thinking.

When I mentioned that maybe, when it came my time to suggest a tune the group could play, it would be the Offspring song “Kristy AreYou Doing Okay”.  He apparently didn’t catch the humor and quickly replied “Oh no!  That song has at least ten different chords, and at a jam you should never suggest a song that has more than 3 or 4 basic ones.  After all, it’s so every one with differing abilities can play.”

It was a relief to hear that, and why would I doubt the veracity of that statement?

So onto the session which was scheduled to last three and a half hours, and thank God, due to the guitar lesson I was two hours late.

I had my (75 pound) dog with me since he always goes to the guitar lessons.

The meet up was at a park, thank God again, because that way I had the beautiful scenery to stare at while the marbles slowly drained out of my brain.

Neither ‘A’ nor ‘C’, nor anyone from the session I usually go to were there.  

Nor were there any other guitarists.  

There were, however, three dulcimers, two hand held drum(mer)s, a couple of violinists who also played harmonicas, and someone who played a fife. 

And they were playing something that you’d hear at a Renaissance Festival. 

(Gulp.)

Somebody sounded so excited when they saw the guitar and said, “Oh look, a guitar player!  We can definitely use one of those today!”  To which I had to reply “NO!, No, no! I was planning on following along with other guitar players; I don’t really know how to play this.”  (I meant ‘type of music’, but really, by then, there were very few marbles left in the noggin and I couldn’t have even played what I’m used to.)

They told me to sit on the end of a picnic table bench because I didn’t think to bring a chair.  My dog and I had to wend between two beautiful dulcimers set on wobbly legged stands, with the dulcimer players gripping their expensive, fragile instruments in fear we’d knock them over.  (They had good reason to be concerned.)

Someone so kindly brought over a music stand and their iPad with the song list/sheet music loaded onto it so I could ‘follow along’.  Couldn’t tell him I couldn’t even figure out the beat.

They were playing waltzes and Irish jigs and songs with many different chords, and complicated (for me) rhythms, and wow! They were so good!  And I could only sit there, admiring their abilities.

When it was my turn to pick a song there were only a couple I recognized from the list, so “Amazing Grace” it was.  Actually (quietly) strummed (correctly!) six or eight times!  Yay me!

When the second time came around someone asked, “Is there any other song you recognize?” “Umm, no.” 

“What type of music do you normally play?” 

Told them “I usually play rock”.  One guy was trying hard not to laugh (and I was with him on that!), and even the crickets had nothing to say in that moment. They (the people :)) were all just kind of staring for a beat or two and it occurred to me to add, “but I want to learn how to play this kind!”  And suddenly everyone was so reassuring, saying I was at the right place and they would be happy to teach me as time goes on, etc.. (WHEW!) 

So, when can I go again???  (And, I probably will!) 

Maybe.

Today’s song is “Shape I’m In” by the Arc Angels.  Its message is sort of appropriate to my state of mind lately, even if it is about a man who’s trying to get ahead in the romance department.  In my case, it’s more about learning to keep my head up, with a sense a humor, while figuring out life..