I Promise - I Haven't Disappeared!

Maintaining a skill or a passion often requires some sort of routine or schedule. Singing is no different. 

But what if your body refuses to participate in a routine? 

I haven't been live-stream singing for two months now. I've been frustrated and annoyed, because it isn't exactly a choice. My body made that decision for me. 

My Crohn's has been a bit of a dick lately - with the burping episodes and the temperamental mood swings when it comes to food. This has all affected my ability to do much of anything, and the burping itself rendered my voice almost unusable for weeks. 

I was getting into such a great groove - live-streaming once a week, entering competitions, learning new music, coming up with drum loops, and even writing brand new songs! Then this latest medical episode hit and it's been two months of mostly resting in bed, going back and forth between having only fluids then to a regular diet, never knowing how I will feel or be able to eat each day. 

Regardless - I signed up for a specific competition and that is my priority at the moment. My voice still tires more easily because of the inflammation and swelling that occurred, so I can only do so much singing before it starts actually being painful. So instead of practicing every couple of days or live-streaming, the ONLY singing I am doing is for this competition. Not only that, but because of other medical issues, I schedule my 'potential singing days' for the day after I have an injection of a specific medication. That it when my voice works the best. So there are two days per week that I leave open for potential recording. 

So my musical life has been more about mental preparation, lyric learning, and reserving two days a week when I can possibly record. Unfortunately, I had another bad week with my Crohn's, so I have only been able to utilize two of those days. 

For this competition, I record two songs, then send them in for review before officially submitting them. I receive feedback on these videos and can try recording better versions to actually submit them. At this point, even though we have a month to submit, I have only been able to record one video for each song. As it stands now, I have four more potential recording days before the deadline, and I am not sure I'll be able to get better recordings. I am super excited about this opportunity, but my health has also made it frustrating. I want to learn and improve and put my best foot forward, but my body doesn't always cooperate. 

Right now, this competition is the priority, so my live-streaming has been a little more sparse. It's okay though - once I recover from this latest medical issue, I will be back to live-streaming as regularly as possible. 

For now, I'll practice when I can, learn new songs when I have the energy, and live-stream random days or piano practice (even boring scales!). 

No matter what - I love My Musical Life!