7/22/09 Setting goals

During March and April as I was going thru treatments it was really hard to see how any of our summer schedule would be able to happen. Looking thru the lens of uncertainty is a really difficult thing to do and none of us can tell the future. None the less I set it upon myself to have a few goals that I hoped I could reach. One goal was to be able to perform at the beginning of July with the Susquehanna String Band and the Symphony of Northern NY as well many other performance dates on the calendar for the summer season. The other main goal I had was to able to be healthy enough to attend my wife’s daughter Winter’s wedding. Right now I feel really good that I was able to achieve both of those goals. Not to say that it has been easy or without challenge! Traveling with the limited amount of things I can eat is a real challenge, as well as getting the amount of rest needed to be successful, especially for performances. But I feel pretty good about being able to meet the goals that I have set and hopefully meet the ones that I am setting right now for the future. Just like going thru Cancer treatments, a lot of the success we have or don’t have can be attributed to our mental attitude and positive outlook. Many folks that I talked too during the spring encouraged me to shy away from setting these kind of goals for I was only setting myself up for disappointment if they were not met. But I really had to have some concrete things to shoot for as we continue to go thru this long recovery process. Goals really do make a difference and when we are successful it just helps us to continue to reach the on going goals that we set in life !!

Well playing music has been just a wonderful thing to say the least !! Last week I did an intergenerational camp at Great Camp Sagamore and then drove to Poughepsie to Winters wedding and then back to Inlet for a Saturday evening concert on the lake with Peggy as the sun was setting. Things went well, but needless to say I really have to make adjustments to be able to perform with the challenges I am facing. One of the more interesting side effects has been my voice dropping in pitch. Its hard to sing where I used to so we have to lower the keys of the songs to adjust. This weekend I will be the featured Hammered Dulcimer artist at the Cranberry Dulcimer and Autoharp festival held at the Kellish Hill Farm in Pompey NY. I am really looking forward to it and especially the concert on Saturday night with Tom Hodgson and Henry Jankiewicz. The concerts are all open to the public so if you are around central NY. I would love to see you. Also a great big thank you to Carl Heilman, Dan Berggren, Casie Filliaci, and Nancy Brown for holding the wonderful benefit for Peggy and I last Sunday night at Tannery Pond community center in North Creek NY. I was too pooped to make it but all the reports were fantastic and Peg and I so appreciate all the time and effort donated to make the event such a success. And a big thank you to all of you who have been so incredibly encouraging and supportive as we go thru this recovery period. Remember to set goals for yourself, it can really help to keep us on track. I look forward to hopefully seeing many of you later this summer and as always I will look for you at 7:00 !