It was a Sunday filled with tons of rest, a bit of work, and some fantastic work from students. Several of my high school students had homecoming events and dances this past weekend, and they were still thrilled and shared a bit of their key points.

Allergies have made me a bit congested but nothing miserable. One fairly new student arrived, very congested in the head, but after several exercises, she was clearing up. At first, she was hesitant that she’d even be able to sing but midway through her lesson, she was amazed at how good she was singing. When we sang through “Think of Me” from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, I raised the key a third. I feared she might crack on the upper notes, but she was strong and sounded lovely. By the last few minutes of the lesson, she was so fired up and determined that she wanted one more swipe through the last page of the song and those upper notes were even more outstanding. I love these moments that can be turned around with self-confidence and determination.

Today, I officially begin my  60^th year in this life. Tonight, at 6:03 PM, Mama Kay will come over, standing in for Mother, to give me my official birthday greeting, the time of my birth. It did not matter where I was or what I was doing, I always made sure I was ready to take Mother’s call if we were not together on my birthday. One year, when I was on tour in JOSEPH, she surprised me by showing up for the Sunday performance held on my birthday. She was brought onto the stage at 6:03 PM as the theatre’s official greeted the audience and I was called out from the wings where I was awaiting my official entrance toward the end of “Jacob & Sons.” It was truly a memorable moment for us both.

Today in history, BEWITCHED premiered in 1964, as did THE ADDAMS FAMILY and MR. MAGOO. The Warren Commission for President Kennedy’s assassination was released to the public on this date in 1964.

It is moving onto 7 AM and I need to prepare for the day. The temperature, at the moment, is 63 degrees and will only climb ten more degrees.

Make it a great day!