December 24th, 2017

Christmas Eve - Robert's last service as choir director/organist of Glebe-St. James Church.  This was a spectacular service - three solos, three choir anthems, five extra singers (four from the past, one fly-in tenor hired to carry that section in the absence of most of our tenors), candlelight Silent Night, standing ovation at the end of the service in appreciation of Robert and his commitment, energy, talent, caring, and awesome contribution to the life of this church!  I had the chance to sing Handel's "O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion" as my last solo (my voice has deteriorated too much to be doing that anymore) and also to read three of the scripture readings throughout the service.  Managed to sing the second soprano, alto and tenor parts without messing up too badly!  God, I've enjoyed moving from part to part, under Robert's direction - challenging, sometimes confusing, always a hoot!  Whoever gets my music next will have trouble identifying my voice - notations everywhere!  This really is the end of an era - Robert's retirement signals the end of my commitment to this choir - actually, he was the only reason I've been coming back to Ottawa regularly.  For six years now, I've been bouncing back and forth between Moody Methodist and Glebe St.-James - timing my arrivals and departures to coincide with various concerts and performances at each church.  With Galveston off my list because of Trump, and Ottawa no longer a priority because of Robert's retirement, I now have to figure out where I want to go.  It's a big deal, actually.  Toronto for part of the time, to see Jake, Bobby, and Julia;  Calgary for part of the time, to see Grace, Gregory and Anna; Ottawa to see friends - but where to spend the bulk of the time? I think I need to take a look at Rob and Helen's plan:  they spend time with each of their kids, plus work for NOMADs, plus explore (one trip per year with me, often).  I'm off to British Columbia soon, and will spend the next few months thinking about the future.