The end-of-year events are coming fast and furious and this week featured two band concerts. First up was the fourth grader’s. He started learning the trombone in October. It is pretty incredible how much new musicians can improve in a few months — but of course as time stacks up they can continue to improve. Hearing the difference the next night with the seventh grade band was something. My daughter played a trumpet solo and did a very good job! I also love hearing her jazz band play.
To get to the concert, I left early from my own rehearsal for the tour choir. My 18-year-old stayed for the rest of it. We are definitely moving toward my goal of being a “musical family.” One fun thing with the tour — it’s been organized by a woman I know from my Young New Yorkers’ Chorus days in NYC. She actually met my 18-year-old when he was a brand new infant. As I noted, he’s grown a bit since.
On the content front — the Before Breakfast podcast this week featured several episodes on topics from 168 Hours (celebrating its 15th anniversary this week!). We talked about why you should “Know what you do best” and “Focus your leisure time.” I also talked about how you could “Split your shifts” and “Be ready to ride the wave.” The interview portion was a real treat this week — I welcomed Cassie Holmes to the show! This UCLA professor studies time and happiness and has done a lot of fascinating research into ways to improve the experience of time. Please give that episode a listen. (And speaking of long term connections — Cassie is married to a college classmate of mine, so hopefully I will see them at reunions next year!)
I was in the Wall Street Journal this week with a review of Amy Larocca’s new book, How to Be Well (review is behind the paywall).
Over at Vanderhacks (my Substack newsletter) I suggest people “Spend a night on memory lane” (this is accompanied by a picture of me from about age 8). I suggest people “Make a ‘Done’ list” and behind the paywall I talk about “The ultimate secret to work/life balance.”
The Best of Both Worlds Patreon community has also had some lively discussions this week about ways to save money without deprivation, and also about a pundit’s suggestion that men are not attracted to ambitious women. Our next meet-up will be on June 30th, when we’ll be talking about I Know How She Does It (celebrating its 10th anniversary next month).
Thank you for your support of me and my work!