Decide and Then Just Do It!

The concert's over, this last week of practising is done, and I am glad. Oh, we sang well and we pulled it off, but I personally was way too stressed and I don't like that. I like to be confident that I know what we're doing so that I can relax. Those stiffening back and neck muscles just are not fun.

What do you do when you're in a quandary? Do you ruminate for days, weeks, months and never make a decision? Do you make the decision quickly and change it at will? Or do you never intend to decide and just keep going wherever the winds and the world take you? The worst, I suppose, is to make the decision and then keep second guessing yourself.

The experts say to decide quickly and move on, knowing that the time saved will far outweigh the odd wrong decision, but how do you do that and live with the consequences of hurting people you love or closing doors you would have better left open? The business world is one thing but our personal lives are totally different--we need to live there!

So I am wondering about my choir commitments. Oh, I still love singing. I just don't like the nerves that seem to more and more go with it. This second part of the year I've been singing second soprano after having soared on the first all my life. To say that is a switch is understatement. I did it because my director needed more help in that section and my voice is not as high as it once was. I like to soar on those high notes and, if that's not possible, I don't go there. Switching to second seemed a natural choice. But it's too low for me. Oh, I love the parts singing and I really like the others in the section--great people--but after a night of singing my voice is scratchy and my speaking sounds low, not a good thing.

The thing that really got me going last night was having to constantly move from one place to another for different songs. In some I sang high soprano; in others second; and I did a couple of showcased solo bits, all of which meant I was moving between just about every song. Crazy! The end result is this: I'm going to go back to singing first soprano, and if a note is particularly high, I'll just let the other younger voices take it.

Okay, I've made the decision. Now I just have to put it into place. Help!