And on the Seventh Day...

Today is Sunday -I sang at church yesterday with Gene - it's so cool to be back in the same city with bro on weekends!

Let me back up - brother Gene and I both lived in LA - he had his own place, I had my house with my sweet sweet hubby and lil Punkin', Boo. My husband, Ben, is an animator and Assistant Director for "The Simpson's" and Gene and I wrote and performed music for various projects. Our Sunday job, though, was working at a church in a city called Paramount, which neighbors Compton and Long Beach. The pastor hired us to form a youth choir/group (which we had never done before) because he "never wanted to preside over the funeral of a teenager again."

This pastor had such vision - we said, "Father,...um ...we've never done this before." He said, "I know, but I believe you CAN do it." Prior to this, Gene and I had been on the road for years, and I was ready to take a break from the travelling, especially because I had just gotten married, and wanted to spend more time with my husband than with my brother :) We went home, thought about it and said what the heck? We took the jobs - and threw ourselves into it.

And the "choir" turned into so much more than that - we'd take the kids (5th grade - young adults) to the Hollywood Bowl, go to Art museums, go to touring Broadway musical productions, take them on college tours, help them with scholarship and financial aid information, set up appointments with college admissions personnel, etc. We worked on the "United in Memory 9/11 Memorial Quilt," sang for the yearly city tree lighting ceremonies, sang on recordings, took the choir to New York to sing... It was truly a wonderful experience. What we didn't plan on with these kids is how much we would fall in love with them - we became like second parents to them, and they were (and still are) like our own children.

When my hubby was given the chance to work from "home" rather than having to go into the studio, he said "CanI make, home Nebraska?" They said sure - just get the work in on time :) So I left my job, but Gene stayed in LA. and kept the choir going. Gene and "The kids" would continue to call me every Sunday, so I still felt part of the choir.

Sadly, the pastor who hired us was transferred to another parish, and the new pastor didn't share the same vision. Gene's position was dissolved a few months ago, and with that went the choir, and all the things that had been built. Gone. It was heartbreaking - the parents and kids were devastated. The kids tried to keep the choir going, and would call all during the week to get the chords to this song, or that, but without Gene spearheading them, they lost their steam and their will. Running a choir is a huge job - there is a lot more to it than most realize - you don't just "show up and sing". The choir dissolved officially last Sunday morning.

Where God closes a door, he opens up a window. Gene will be moving here officially in March, And we are at the beginning of a new chapter! Gene really likes the church my hubby and I attend, (my son goes to school there too) so we help out with the kids choir occasionally and offer our talents a couple times a month. Yesterday we sang together - it's good to be home.