For 20+ years I've imagined a place where children and families come together to learn, grow, play, have fun, make music etc... Over that time it's taken different forms, starting as a space with more of a therapeutic tone and evolving to be more of a community of like minded folks making music, playing and learning from each other.
The dream percolates for a few months and then fades away. Every 4-5 years it has re-surfaced in a slightly revised form, but each time, it has faded back into the woodwork.
When I began my work with Music Together, the element of music and play began to take more of the focus. I opened a storefront in Tolland and dove in! For three years I continued teaching Music Together and explored various other ways of using my little space - drum circles, family events, workshops, theatre classes etc.. All were fun, none were consistent. After 3 years I decided I couldn't commit to the overhead any longer as I had "failed" to see my dream come true.
Looking back, I know I didn't "fail" so much as I made life choices that made it clear the time was not right. I wanted to be around for my children, I loved teaching more than "managing" and I didn't really care about anything besides Music Together so why not just do that? I decided that while the dream was lovely, I didn't want it enough (or have the skills needed) to make it happen, so I pushed it away and moved on.
Several years passed and I happily taught in a number of spaces, but that gets old ~ getting in the car and having to remember where I was going on any given day taxed my attention challenged brain. Then, along came a charming toy store with a lovely event room! At Kiddy Korner I was able to teach as many classes as I could fill. I had storage, I had people to chat with between classes. I had the best of both worlds! A central location where I could offer as much as I wanted, without the risk of overhead etc... I paid my "rent" when I used the space and didn't even have to clean the bathroom!
2 years passed though and the toy store closed ~ tough business in any town, but especially in a little town. I couldn't go back to being an itinerate music teacher and the dream bubbled up again. Maybe this time, with more experience and business savvy, I could bring my place to life! Well-negotiated rent, cute space, awesome signage~ back into business.
Here we are now, 2 and a half years in and I could be thinking that while classes are going well, I'm still on my own and that's not what I want. Maybe when my lease is up, I should close up and go back to traveling or maybe get a grown up job. This should be the time that the dream melts back into the background again.
Instead of melting though it's bubbling furiously! Imagine a space in the center of town that would be part music/arts studio with Music Together, private lessons, arts classes of all sorts, movement and yoga classes and part coffee shop/juice bar/gathering place? Imagine a comfy space that could be used by moms and dads in the mornings with little ones, to gather to talk and play and learn. The same space could be used for gathering after school for homework, tutoring, lessons, or just hanging out by students. The SAME space could evolve in the evenings to hold mtgs, host open stage evenings or private events. I'm dreaming day and night of this magical community but what holds me back is fear. Fear that I'll fail. Fear that I can't do it. Fear that while I think it's a brilliant idea, I'll dive in, open the doors and NO ONE WILL COME.
I don't often ask for feedback on this blog, but here's what I want to know. Can you see it too? Do you want to be a part of it? Would you come? Would you bring your friends? Maybe if it becomes not just MY dream, but the dream of a group of people, it won't be so scary. Maybe this time the dream will bubble up into something truly delicious and amazing.
The dream percolates for a few months and then fades away. Every 4-5 years it has re-surfaced in a slightly revised form, but each time, it has faded back into the woodwork.
When I began my work with Music Together, the element of music and play began to take more of the focus. I opened a storefront in Tolland and dove in! For three years I continued teaching Music Together and explored various other ways of using my little space - drum circles, family events, workshops, theatre classes etc.. All were fun, none were consistent. After 3 years I decided I couldn't commit to the overhead any longer as I had "failed" to see my dream come true.
Looking back, I know I didn't "fail" so much as I made life choices that made it clear the time was not right. I wanted to be around for my children, I loved teaching more than "managing" and I didn't really care about anything besides Music Together so why not just do that? I decided that while the dream was lovely, I didn't want it enough (or have the skills needed) to make it happen, so I pushed it away and moved on.
Several years passed and I happily taught in a number of spaces, but that gets old ~ getting in the car and having to remember where I was going on any given day taxed my attention challenged brain. Then, along came a charming toy store with a lovely event room! At Kiddy Korner I was able to teach as many classes as I could fill. I had storage, I had people to chat with between classes. I had the best of both worlds! A central location where I could offer as much as I wanted, without the risk of overhead etc... I paid my "rent" when I used the space and didn't even have to clean the bathroom!
2 years passed though and the toy store closed ~ tough business in any town, but especially in a little town. I couldn't go back to being an itinerate music teacher and the dream bubbled up again. Maybe this time, with more experience and business savvy, I could bring my place to life! Well-negotiated rent, cute space, awesome signage~ back into business.
Here we are now, 2 and a half years in and I could be thinking that while classes are going well, I'm still on my own and that's not what I want. Maybe when my lease is up, I should close up and go back to traveling or maybe get a grown up job. This should be the time that the dream melts back into the background again.
Instead of melting though it's bubbling furiously! Imagine a space in the center of town that would be part music/arts studio with Music Together, private lessons, arts classes of all sorts, movement and yoga classes and part coffee shop/juice bar/gathering place? Imagine a comfy space that could be used by moms and dads in the mornings with little ones, to gather to talk and play and learn. The same space could be used for gathering after school for homework, tutoring, lessons, or just hanging out by students. The SAME space could evolve in the evenings to hold mtgs, host open stage evenings or private events. I'm dreaming day and night of this magical community but what holds me back is fear. Fear that I'll fail. Fear that I can't do it. Fear that while I think it's a brilliant idea, I'll dive in, open the doors and NO ONE WILL COME.
I don't often ask for feedback on this blog, but here's what I want to know. Can you see it too? Do you want to be a part of it? Would you come? Would you bring your friends? Maybe if it becomes not just MY dream, but the dream of a group of people, it won't be so scary. Maybe this time the dream will bubble up into something truly delicious and amazing.
It's a beautiful dream, my friend! Keep it alive. If the commute wasn't so bad, I'd jump on with you in a second but I'll be cheering you on from MN! Best of luck!
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