Finding "My Time" during the day

As I may have mentioned - I am starting to play the cello again after 30 years. It is daunting, it is fun, it is tiring.

Oh, I guess I have not posted about it yet. So a brief history. Way back in the Dark Ages, I decided I wanted to play the cello. Its a big instrument, but it makes a lot of sound, and I think I was on a Spanish kick at the time (Pablo Casals still being the greatest living cellist). I also wanted to be a bullfighter when I grew up. Anyway, I started playing both at school and at the University of Texas String Project. I played for a few years and was passably good, but never great.

I finally stopped playing when I discovered girls and the cross-country team.

Fast forward 30 years.

I was playing Guitar Hero on the Wii (see my review of Guitar Hero III) and having fun, but felt like I wanted more control of the music - you know, really make music. Right then and there, I decided to take up the cello again.

So I called my mom, who has been keeping my old student cello for all those 30 years - I guess a mom's hope springs eternal - and she said, "Sure, I have it. Take it away!" So the next time I was in Texas, I packed it up, stuck it under the plane and brought it back home.

I found a teacher, Steve Laven, who is pretty cool and pushes me and is supportive. And we jumped into the whole thing. After 2 lessons and a week or so of practice, I have discovered that I remember a lot of practical music theory. My hands are stiffer. I need to cut my nails more. Playing a cello from a wheelchair is harder than before. But it is fun.

Actually, the other evening I was practicing and I was concentrating on my bowing and had a wonderful moment of concentration on something that was not work, not chores, not kids or homework. It was a very pleasant time. A time of focus and removal from the day-to-day works and distractions of everyday life. Now, I feel all grouchy if I don't get some of my cello practice/away-time. It's like a little vacation in the living room.

I am curious. Does anyone else have some activity that they do that takes you away in a similar way?