Each Spring is a battle to avoid feeling stressed behind the upcoming formal recital in May. While it is true that my chill skill continues to increase in measure with each passing year, I apparently still have not achieved victory. It seems the desire for each student to experience a successful performance overwhelms my ability to see how many variables cannot actually be controlled. Bottom line? I just want to teach the kids that they can do whatever they “put their minds to”. So, how come the teacher hasn’t reached her goal of handling recital season with total joy and ease? Guess I need to keep practicing just like “my” aspiring pianists. It’s obvious that all my worry defies reality, since the performance always turns out beautifully. But then again, maybe this year will be the year that……. whoops. Thank goodness for the Serenity Prayer and my usual three day, end of May, get-a-way. Hey, maybe that triple rhyme will work for the chorus of my latest blues tune!