My last hurrah

So it has been a little over a week since my final GU Melody Spring Concert.  I guess it still hasn't hit me that my experience with GU Melody is over.  It still doesn't feel like I'm graduating soon--there seems to be a lot of things I have to do before I'm really done at college.  And really, the Spring Concert was my first "last" at Georgetown.

But what I have thought about is how much I will miss the students and our GU Melody Family.  Volunteering with GU Melody has been probably the most profound thing that I have ever done with my life, because it has truly shaped me as a person.  I had done service prior to GU Melody, but never had I interacted with students in such a way that I truly got to know them as people and watch them grow over my four years of volunteering.  I have seen them sad and happy,
succeeding in school, learning how to read and write in cursive, growing taller each year, and
seeing younger generations of the same families come through GU Melody as well.  Two of my
former students have been so inspired by their GU Melody experience to begin taking piano lessons.  I cannot express how happy I am that I have brought music into those girls' lives.  

Also, I have never before encountered such a wonderful group of friends as my GU Melody family.  Each one of our volunteers is such a kind, unique, and caring individual whom I feel so fortunate to have as a friend.  I truly feel as though the best people I have ever met at Georgetown have been my Melody Family.  I have learned so much from all of you and we have shared so many funny memories and jokes.  You are all such wonderful people and I know that each of you will help change the world to become a better place by just you being in it.  You will all hold a place in my heart forever.  

I know that I am leaving GU Melody in the best hands.  Andrew and Matt already are beginning to recruit new freshmen by speaking at the GAAP weekends.  We've gotten a huge funding request approved for next year to buy new instruments.  So things just keep getting better!

The YMCA will be moving to a new building temporarily for the next few years while the old building undergoes renovations.  So it really is like the "end of an era" for us at the Anthony Bowen YMCA.  

But when I come visit, I will certainly have lots to look forward to :-)

Love,
Clare
President Emeritus

These kids lead more interesting lives than me!

This story is way past overdue, but it will still be quite interesting and funny for everyone.  

So this semester I'm working with younger kids than I ever have (most are around 7), and two of them are cousins.  Of course this means that every lesson proves to be quite interesting since they can become quite emotional.  But in the end everything works out, no matter how crazy the events leading to it are.  Two weeks ago was probably the craziest I've seen.

It all started with the two cousins wanting to play with my keys.  I gave in finally, but after awhile hearing I wasn't going to get them back until the following week I told them I needed them back.  Of course this caused arguing among the cousins since they still wanted them, but also wanted to be the good kid who gave them to me.  Before you know it, they each say they don't want to talk to each other anymore, but first throw insults at each other.  During this whole event little Alex was just standing there trying to make them happy.  I had no idea really how to deal with this, but I figured they are cousins so I can work with that, and just remind them of the good times.  I did not know, or expect, that the good time would be a food fight they had at a FAMILY PICNIC!

I couldn't even imagine what the food fight could have been like, but they both became so happy thinking about it and explaining how they threw the cole slaw at each other.  Of course I'm wondering what were their mothers doing at this point?  And how much trouble did they get in afterwards?  So I ask, and the response?  THEIR MOTHERS JOINED IN!  Apparently their mothers were hitting them with more food than anyone else!  I couldn't even believe it.  It seems crazy, but at the same time, they have the coolest moms!

Of course though they also cause food fights when in school, with little Isiah apparently starting most of them.  For those though they do get in trouble, but they seem to still enjoy them.  And of course I forgot to mention they were reenacting the food fights for Alex and I, running around the room and ducking to avoid the "food" and everything.  When I was younger, I never was in a food fight, I didn't realize that they were so commonplace!

These kids are so much fun, and even if sometimes I'm not teaching them, they certainly entertain me and I hope they are having a good time!

Frank

Valentine's Day!

Hello everyone!
So Valentine's Day was yesterday, and today was our little GU Melody Valentine's Day celebration.  The kids were all SO crazy because they've had so much candy.  So what did we do, but give them MORE CANDY!!!  These kids had been waiting for 2 weeks for some candy, so they deserved it.  And I took the opportunity to make a lovely baked delight for the family.  I should tell y'all how much of a disaster baking those cookies were--I originally planned to make heart-shaped Rice Krispy Treats and I bought this kit with everything you needed to make them.  The only problem was that the marshmallow goo was in some plastic bag (genius idea, for sure) and clearly it wasn't going to all come out of the packaging.  So I wenth through TWO batches of trying to make the stuff, and both times it ended up being a crusty mess.  So, I had a ton of icing to decorate them and I was kind of panicking.  But then, I was staring into the abyss that is my pantry, and saw a recipe on the box of Bisquick I had to make strawberry shortcakes, and the brilliant idea struck me to turn it into a cookie recipe!  So I tried the first batch and used the cookie cutters I had to cut the Bisquick mess into little hearts, but it was a little crumbly.  So then, fortunately, my dear roomie Ali swooped in to save the day and show me how to make the mix lay right in the pan so that it would come out even.  So, I FINALLY succeeded in making my little treats.  Phew.  But I will definitely use the Bisquick recipe again--I think that was pretty smart!  Here it is in case you guys wonder how to make it:

Bisquick GU Melody V-Day Treats:
3 cups Bisquick mix
1 cup milk
1 cup brown sugar
Mix all the stuff and spread into a baking pan.  Tilt the pan around until the mixture has evenly covered the pan (this was Ali's brilliant idea).  Bake for, I don't know, 3-4 minutes...then cut into cute shapes!  So easy.

Now I need to think up a cute treat for St. Patty's Day...

Love,
Clare
President "Emeritus"

PS- I think Frank has a pretty funny story to share with us...

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from the GU Melody Family!
New Year's is a time to make resolutions, and even though most people usually forget about them by January 10th or so, I think that any resolutions we make regarding GU Melody would be easy enough to accomplish!  So here goes.
I think our number 1 resolution for this year will be to become more widely recognized on campus.  We've already expanded greatly in our number of volunteers this year and I know that it will certainly grow in the spring semester (because I know of a few volunteers from last year who will be able to volunteer with us again, yay!!!).  So that increases our notoriety.  Also, having our blog and making our official GU website (which is still in the process of approval) will certainly help.  Now when you Google "GU Melody," our blog is the first site to pop up instead of some ridiculous listing on CSJ's website!  Hooray!  So our number 2 resolution will be to continue to have fun and host lots of Melody Family events.  I think a GU Melody Mardi Gras party would be especially great.  I'm really looking forward to 2008 and I think some great things are in store for GU Melody!!!
Love,
Clare
President Emeritus