The Washington Post recently wrote an editorial saying the Summer is over-rated. It’s possible that’s true. What is summer really? – A time when it’s really hot!!

For many of us, summer is when we envision getting a lot done. We make lists and once made, they are hard to escape.

The “list” is that thing we all do — the “I’m going to be productive and not just lay on the beach” thing we seem to need to do to justify our summer.

Everyone has a list. It may be pragmatic – “Paint the house” “Clean the basement” or more ambitious “learn French”. As a rule, the list is not finishable. If we come close to completing them we just add more to it. Sometimes, we don’t even start them. They just linger, close at hand, as a reminder of all the promises we made to ourselves and others.

I have a personal list and a more pragmatic trio list. From a rehearsal point of view, the trio is on hiatus. Matt’s in Colorado and Suzanne will soon head to Maine and then beyond. But even though we are scattered, there are still things to accomplish and thus, we have a list.

Some things are already done:

Airline tickets to Havana √
Tickets to New Orleans √
Get materials ready for our new Intern, who starts in the Fall (Can’t tell you about him, but will in September) √

To be honest, those were fun tasks, so of course they were completed first.

Others are in progress:

Emails to universities about our 2020 Composer Competition — 300+ emails sent, more going soon
Program decisions for the Fall — 90% there…

There are other things that have been started, but have a ways to go: Learn Spanish (no really) — Sí, pero no habla bonito, todavía.
Emails to Presenters – Oy…where’s that intern?

Is the list a good or bad?
If you use it as a tool – good!
If you feel beaten down by it – bad.

List or no, I’m still in favor of summer. And it’s okay to slack off, at least a little. A week on the beach in Florida, rum drink in hand comes my way soon. No instrument. No nail clipper. And after that, it will be back to work.

And meanwhile, that’s July’s Blog √√