I have been wondering whether or not to write about this thing that happened to me. Obviously, because you’re reading this, you’ll realise that I did decide to do it. Otherwise you’d just be reading waffle. And I actually tell a little story. (Okay, I’ll get on with it.)

I’ve just gone on holiday, with Ben (aka long-suffering husband). It’s the first holiday we’ve been on for a very long time. There have been various reasons why we didn’t – COVID (obvs), then having kittens (literally. As in, we got new cats – one that needed quite a lot of care at the start of her little life), then I was workingworkingworking A LOT, needing to practise for live-streams, not really having the spare money to go away.

And all of this was fine. I love our cats (and wouldn’t trade them in for the world). I was so lucky to be able to perform during this crazy time (and help other musicians along the way). We have a beautiful house, and I’m happy to stay in it.

But I was tired at the end of term 2. I’d had the ‘flu (badly). I’d had COVID (not really badly at all). Teaching is hard at the moment (teacher shortages are BAD, but understandable. This makes interesting reading….).

I mentioned the drudge in an email to someone who is now a friend, but I know them because they are a regular audience member and live-stream watcher. I was actually not having a whinge, just saying how pleased I was not to be actually sick any more, but how things were all a bit bad in schools.

And then a fairly large sum of money from this person dropped into my bank account. With the instructions ‘go on holiday’.

I cried. Because it reminded me that in the midst of all this, this strange time we’re all in right now, there are incredibly wonderful people out there, doing incredibly wonderful things. And I was lucky enough to be the recipient of one of those wonderful things. A friend came to cat-sit (and left us with home-cooked meals in the freezer for when we got back. I know, right??!!) and Ben and I went to an amazing retreat. We spent all the money. I had a massage. We ate some amazing food. We relaxed. We were together doing nothing. We listened to a lot of music. We even watched a James Bond film.

I spoke to my holiday fairy and asked why they had done this.

“You have given me so much pleasure. With all the playing. The musical beauty. The jokes. The stories about the kids you teach. And now I can give back to you.”

Never forget the impact you have on others….