I am going to work today. I am going back to opera. Do you know what this means? Do you?!

It means I’m back! When I’m not playing in a group I feel as if a part of me went missing. I can handle a couple of weeks off just fine, but longer than that and I start to feel a bit hollow, as if the “oboist, Patricia Emerson Mitchell” has left he building or something.

I’m not saying teaching isn’t work, but it’s a different sort. I love it. It’s challenging (and sometimes tiring as well). I love seeing my students improve. Heck, I love watching them grow up too! (I’ve had some since they began and while seeing them mature makes me feel old it’s also great fun to see them moving to adulthood.) But teaching is work that doesn’t involve playing and conversing with colleagues, and it doesn’t include performing, and, mostly, just basking in music.

Funny how I’ll moan and groan when I have a lot of performances and I’m working lots of hours, often on difficult music, but I also complain when I’m not working. Go figure.
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