Over the past couple weeks I’ve talked a lot about being a traveling music therapist. I’ve shared tips, favorite apps, podcast lists, funny quips, and much more. Today, I am delighted to share a specific story about the trials of being a traveling music therapist.
Things were going really smoothly today as I was on my way to do music therapy session and lessons this afternoon! That is until I saw a series of two police cars, lights flashing, pulled to the side of the road. Soon after, traffic slowed, then came to a grinding halt. For the next 2 HOURS, we crawled a grueling 3 miles.
Of course, this meant my whole day would be thrown off. At first, I thought my sessions would just be pushed back a few minutes, maybe an hour. As our journey continued, I found out I was in for a long haul and had to cancel several sessions. I had made my (normally 45 minute trip) into town to see only 1 client. ONE. At that point, I was simply thankful that I had even made it in time for that individual.
To make matters even more exciting, my gas light was on the entire 2 hours of the crawl, there were tornado and severe thunderstorm watches throughout the area, and my bladder slowly began screaming at me. All traffic was directed off the highway because an overturned firetruck was blocking both lanes of the south-bound highway.
Photo taken from: http://www.wics.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_16828.shtml
I screamed with delight when I finally saw a gas station and was able to stop to empty and refuel. Thankfully, I was able to make it there!
Overall, I kept a very positive attitude about the whole experience. I had to laugh. The whole situation was simply hysterical.
Lessons learned:
- Always, ALWAYS, have more than a 1/4 tank of gas.
- Don’t drink too much water.
- Always have water and snacks in the car.
- Leave early
- Find ways to keep your mind occupied (podcasts, music, car games, etc)
- Check traffic reports
- Find a local radio station with traffic and weather reports