So everything has been ticking along nicely, thank you, and the little boy I've got riding around inside me is getting quite big now, I've passed the seven month mark. I admit cello playing hasn't been top of mind lately, but I'm trying to just relax and do what I can do, when I can manage it.
There's no denying, though, that there's been a big lapse in practice. I'm a bit terrified I'll never get back to my previous abilities (or have time to) and the idea of getting to my favourite orchestra across town on transit hauling a cello seems impossible right now.
How have you come back from an absence from playing? My usual way is to ease in with playing more music and less technique to start, getting myself to fall in love with it again – then making my way back to the technique when I'm feeling a bit more confident. Over a few weeks, not ignoring technique for months until I magically feel up for it. I just find going straight back in studies and scales makes me feel more fatigued and frustrated than playing a few tunes and putting the instrument down. It's a bit like exercising a muscle after an injury I suppose.
Of course, I haven't quite picked up my cello again yet, and I have a feeling my bump is too big now for it to work. And then I only get bigger. And then there's a little boy to look after…. whew.
But I find if I start thinking about it now as a gradual thing I can ease into, it's much more likely to actually happen. I suppose that visualisation, isn't it?
