Self-Conscious

Littler decided a bit back that she wanted to take flute lessons at school. Hey, I have a flute, maybe I should actually like, bother to practice. And I have, near daily, for the past… some amount of time. Month or two? *checks* About two months, yeah. I can’t say I’m getting spectacular at it, but I’m actually finally developing a rudimentary embouchure. Which yanno, exciting. It’s reminded me that I really do quite like playing wind instruments…

Except for the whole being overheard thing. I’ve been self-conscious about that since I was a kid and my siblings referred to the French Horn as ‘The Fart Machine’. So when Z tells me that neighbour S commented that I was getting better, my soul cringed. And today, neighbour B commented to him that he could set his watch by when I’m practicing, and that it’s nice. More cringe. Like, I’m not going to stop — I think I’m legit going to make fluting happen now, but I’ll always worry that I’m being a bother somehow.

Eldest starts on their GCSEs next year; we finally got the ones they’re taking in the (e)mail this week. I’m happy that kiddo is musically inclined, if not wind instruments. No, they want to be a rock star, and bless ’em for it. They’ve got a set-up that some adults would kill for instrument-wise in their room, and being that it’s their school course, they get a bonus free music lesson at school. So they’re going to keep on with guitar, and get a free drum lesson. I don’t know what to expect with GCSEs, not having grown up here, but I hope that I can help in that and anything else in their coursework.

We’ve got the final leader’s debate before the election next week, so we’re probably going to watch that. We’ve already voted by post, so it’s not going to sway us one way or another, but as Z put it — it’s a cage match, and why not. They’re probably both going to be so tetchy because it’s boiling out in places not our living room; all hail the A/C, glorious giver of life.

<3