Parkinson was right

I don’t know for certain, but I may not be posting much in the next week or two, or perhaps month or two.

It’s nothing against you, my loyal readers. It’s just that life’s responsibilities have gotten in the way of my incessant and constant need to post something on my blog.

And by “life’s responsibilities” I mean specifically both (a) the fact that between the early voting period and the actual election day I will spend seven long, full days and parts of a couple of others working for the county and (b) the fact that as the person solely responsible for music in our small church I need to plan and rehearse with people for the upcoming Advent and Christmas seasons.

Our church has not had a choir in several years. Even though it has a choir loft that can seat more than 20 singers, the current congregation as a whole is perhaps less interested in music than any group I have encountered before. Many (though not all) enjoy listening to it but few are interested in producing it. Since I arrived in the summer of 2010, we have managed to put together a small men’s ensemble and a small women’s ensemble -- it’s the ensembles that are small, not the men and women -- who have sung a couple of times during the year, although meeting for rehearsals has been like pulling teeth at times. The pastor wants both groups to sing again during December, so I need to find suitable pieces of music with the right degree of non-difficulty. There is also the children’s handbell choir to contend with be joyfully involved with once again. Some of last year’s participants have aged out into the youth department; other new children have come in who never played handbells before, and we have only a portion of the Sunday School hour in which to learn and rehearse over the next few weeks, as virtually no parent will commit to evening rehearsals during the school year. I do not want to antagonize the Sunday School teachers either. There will also be two Christmas Eve services, one at 5 p.m. and one at 11 p.m., that require music.

Did I tell you that my official title is “pianist”?

I don’t mean to whine, and it’s not that I’m overwhelmed with tasks exactly, but the responsibilities weigh heavily upon me.
I will have more than enough to do without trying to find additional time for blogging.

If you are not involved in local politics or music, you may not feel my pain. If you are involved in two or more important activities at once, you understand where I’m coming from.

As Parkinson’s Law states, “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”

You know what? Parkinson was right.