At church today, one of the congregants handed me an envelope. When I opened it, it contained a thank you card (for playing piano and accompanying a song he was singing) with $20 inside! He did not have to do that! The church actually pays me fairly well for my services, and I am not really used to accepting money for playing in church in the first place.
In one of the songs that I played with the praise band, I did the intro....and nobody came in. Usually if we don't start together, the guitarist or I will join the other during or after the intro as the song begins, but he didn't seem with it today. He then played the intro again, and the singers came in at that time. It was very awkward. During the sermon (I don't stay in the sanctuary for all three services, but wander if I have heard or will hear the sermon in the next service) I wandered into the fellowship hall, saw one of the praise band singers, and asked if he knew what had happened. He mumbled something when another man came running back to tell him that his mic was still on. Apparently the congregation heard a little bit of me voicing my frustration over the situation. Though I didn't say anything bad or was blaming anyone, it still wasn't something that should have been fed into the sound system.
On the way home, because of the money given me, I stopped by the farmers market and went a little crazy: strawberries and nectarines for the kid, probiotic sauerkraut from one of my favorite local companies called "The Cultured Kitchen," and some lamb shanks. I had fun talking to the fishmonger and will probably buy some halibut next week.
Home now, enjoying the a/c, and feeling blessed!