expectations

It is perhaps fitting - or maybe just ironic - that today's post begins with a story of me making a mistake. It was in the postlude after the second service. That little bit of knuckle-walking was completely uncalled for. And during one of my favorite parts, too. Gar.

However, for the record, the services actually went really well overall. And, as per usual, I am already wishing that I could play again next week!

Anyway, back to the story at hand... The beauty of making a mistake in a prelude, offertory, or postlude is that no one has to care but me. If I mess up a hymn, on the other hand, the whole congregation suffers. And, thankfully, today's hymns went really well. Even the opening hymn rocked, which is one of my favorite hymn tunes but is not exactly an easy one to play. And not only did I learn to play it, but I even played the melody on a solo stop for the introduction. (Take that, Jerusalem! Oh, snap!)

Besides... The beauty of today's mistakes is that they were not even under my own name.

No, seriously.

The office staff have probably been going out of their minds all week in preparation for tonight's big service, and so it's easy to see how things slip through the cracks. There are no hard feelings on my part - if people can forgive me for a few wrong notes here and there, the least I can do is overlook an occasional typo in the bulletin!

I jokingly told a friend before the first service that I figured I could play as badly as I wanted to and everyone would just blame it on this new organist. Well, until I walked down from behind the console to play piano for the anthem... So perhaps that theory was not as good as I first thought.

I took a detour on the way home to pick up a lint trap for the washer. In case you were ever wondering how to get a bunch of funny looks at a hardware store, I've figured it out. You have to be a blonde girl in a suit, wearing heels that clickety-clack on the tile floor. The greeter asked me if I needed help finding anything, and she looked a little surprised when I said, "Nope - I know where I'm going," and proceeded to march to the back of the store, grab what I needed, and head for the check-out.

It's good to keep people on their toes.

And now, speaking of expectations, I had best put away my things and get to work... The Holland Symphony music needs a little attention before Tuesday's rehearsal. And just a few more hours till the hymn fest!