Monteverdi Vespers

Last Saturday evening I went to a wonderful performance of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 performed by the Grand Rapids Symphony and Chorus. Mom and I were scheduled as volunteers to hand out programs, but mom got sick. I invited my friend Rose to fill in for her and we headed to St. Andrews Cathedral in downtown Grand Rapids. Last summer, Mom, Rose and I worked at the Picnic Pops Concerts, but this was our first experience volunteering at an indoor symphony event.

I spend a lot of time thanking the Lord for all the beautiful things in my life. High on the list is music. One of my favorite quotes is “Music is the prayer the heart sings.” Monteverdi’s eloquent prayer spoke for everyone in the cathedral. Through an hour and a half of uninterrupted music, the audience was spellbound as the music soared. It was the perfect setting for this work.

My parents were huge supporters of the Grand Rapids Symphony. They were always volunteering at events, working in the kitchen at the Picnic Pops Concerts, ushering or passing out programs at other performances. When Dad died last April, the symphony was named as a requested recipient of memorial funds, and hundreds of dollars were raised for the organization. I was so proud to see their names printed in the program as donors. If I hadn’t promised mom that I would help her continue to volunteer, I wouldn’t have been at that concert, enjoying the wonderful music.

I hadn’t realized the extent of my parents’ love for the arts. They were always at the concerts when my brothers and I were growing up. I took that for granted. But long after their children no longer performed, they continued to feed that love by supporting the arts on a bigger scale.

I couldn’t be more proud of them.

GOALS PROGRESS:

Health: still stuck at the same weight. Two weeks of no progress is very discouraging! I tried the zig-zagging my calorie input – the higher calorie days are no problem, but the lower calorie days are not. I’ll have to try some other strategies. Life seems to get in the way of my visits to the gym, so I go for walks around the neighborhood.

Creativity: Made lots of hats with my sewing group.

Writing: met with my critique group, which as usual made wonderful suggestions. I’m re-writing now.