Most people like time off from work. They enjoy sleeping in, reconnecting with family and friends, and just taking time to relax.
I am not one of those people.
I’ve been told my whole life to take time to relax. When I was in high school, I was simultaneously involved in sports, music, and clubs. I was constantly on the go. I was home just long enough to sleep, eat, and get ready for the next activity.
I’ve continued a similar pattern in my adult life. For five years, back in the 90s, I worked three jobs. I was a full-time music teacher in the public schools, a part-time choir director at a church on Niagara Falls Boulevard, and a part-time host three nights a week here on BTPM Classical. It was brutal, but I did get my student loans paid off before I was 35, so I guess it was worth it. Relax? Pshaw!
The truth is that time off scares me. I feel unsettled and even a little depressed when I have time off. This is why my upcoming vacation from BTPM Classical makes me a little nervous. My Italian grandmother called this feeling agita – a word I love.
A week off with nothing to do. Hmm.
So, what’ll I... do?
Recognizing that I fear having nothing to do, I came up with a vacation plan. I’m taking a “staycation” instead of a vacation. A staycation is a vacation spent at home. I’ll go for long walks on Elmwood Avenue and around Hoyt Lake in Delaware Park. I’ll do a few odd jobs around the house. I’ll have lunch with an old friend from school. I’ll even read a book.
Although I’ve gotten out of the habit lately, I love to read. I especially like reading books of personal letters written by famous composers. If you really want to get to know a composer’s personality, just read their letters. They’re remarkably revealing.
In recent years, I’ve read Claude Debussy’s hilariously wry letters and the letters of American composer Charles Tomlinson Griffes. They’ll make your hair stand up if you read between the lines. He had a clever way of switching into German when he didn’t want his American family members to know what he was talking about. The next letters I want to read are by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. His music is so elegant, yet so criminally underrated. I want to know why.
One thing I do know about Saint-Saëns is that he really liked to vacation. In fact, he was a serial vacationer. He made 179 trips to 27 countries during his lifetime. That was quite a feat for a person born in 1835. He had no agita whatsoever about time off. Maybe I could learn a thing or two from Saint-Saëns.
So, for the first time in my life, I’m trying to embrace time off instead of fearing it. Knowing that Peter Hall is filling in for me on the air helps. Knowing that I don’t have to make travel plans like Saint-Saëns did 179 times helps. Instead, I’m finally doing what people have been telling me to do my whole life. I’m taking time to relax.
