This line from the Wizard of Oz has come to mind so often in the past year it's scary. And I really must wonder. I was hoping that once Dante was weaned I would get my brain from the Wizard, or at least get it back, but it's been a month and there's still hide nor hare of it.
What makes me despair so, you may ask? Read on...
I discovered at 14:35 (2:35pm for the Americans) on Sunday, 31 October 2010 that I had gotten the date of the Hildegard von Bingen concert wrong by a year. Yes, I showed up to sing a concert a year in advance! I have since checked the initial email inquiry that Joachim Dreher made only to discover to my horror that it was always my mistake! He did indeed ask me if I would like to reiterate my part in the program on Sunday, 30 October 2011. I was so addled and didn't even notice that the date I checked was 31 October 2010. When I asked for a copy of the exact program and the date in 2011 was at the top, I decided it was a typo. (The difference 30 to 31 didn't even enter my consciousness!)
Magnus and I arrived at the church in Dillenburg at 14:35 and I ran upstairs to the sanctuary, which was dark and empty. I was worried. Oh no! Did I get the venue wrong? Oh dear... There were people cleaning up from some lunchtime event in the parish hall downstairs where Magnus was feeding Dante and I asked them if they knew where Joachim and the choir were. I got blank stares. There was one helpful man, who said he knew nothing about a rehearsal or a concert and Herr Dreher just left, although he might still be in the rectory. Nope, he wasn't and he wasn't home yet either. And I'd forgotten to enter his new cell phone number in mine. Sigh.
Man, we would've arranged our activities for this weekend much differently had I not thought I had a concert to sing in Dillenburg! Magnus was in the UK until midnight Friday and had to return to England on Monday early early. We probably would've gone to England together and spent a relaxing weekend with friends of ours in Northwestern England. Instead, we had a lovely but rather stressful weekend of travel and rushed visits with friends and the church family.
On the positive side, besides seeing my goddaughter Madeleine and my BFF Pamela, her husband and meeting their 18 month old for the first time, I got to see several friends and acquaintances at Christ the King Church, the Episcopal Church (English language) that I attended when I lived in Frankfurt. I also was allowed to sing spontaneously (thank you Simon!). So all my practicing for the Hildegard program was not for naught! I sang Ave generosa, which was also a bit of an adventure, because although I've sung the song in its entirety a million times, I hadn't bothered to practice the verses the choir was to be singing and it didn't occur to me until I was in the middle of the first verse! Ack! Well, it went extremely well, no mistakes and it was a pleasure to be able to sing for my friends and church family again.
So, now I dread that question - "so how did the concert go?" and blush to answer it truthfully...
