“Fun Fact: I Play the Violin”

What is one skill or talent you have that not everyone may know about?

I mentioned in my last post on my 2020 highlights, that one of the highlights was me terminating my cleaning business. You may be thinking you never knew I owned a cleaning business. Or you may even be thinking how did she own a cleaning business and be a full-time lawyer?! Well here is the back story to that —

One of my good friends, Jonathan Dapaah, owns a moving business locally here in Georgia: Gameday Moving Services (they’re awesome, and not just because they’re my friends!) I witnessed how my friend literally started his business from the ground up, and now it is an extremely successful business. So in 2018, I got the fondest idea to start a cleaning business. I could have sworn the Lord came and whispered in my ear, “start a cleaning business and partner with your friend’s moving business.” Yall, the Lord was nowhere in this plan, and that’s probably why my business didn’t take off like my friend’s did. But that’s what my thought process was. Partner with my friend and offer to clean the houses either before their clients move in or after they move out. But, instead of partnering with him, I started it on my own (it was better for business purposes, insurance purposes etc.) It took some time, but my cousin and I came up with the name “In & Out Cleaning, LLC” and we would offer turnkey cleaning services. And we tried to keep it at strictly cleaning services surrounded by a move.

I was so proud of this business (I created the logo and website myself!). My little lawyer self drafted my own cleaning contracts. I incorporated the business on my own. I filled out all of the requisite paperwork with the county. I just knew I knew what I was doing. WRONG! I didn’t know what I was doing.

And I can’t take all of the credit. My cousin and I were partners in this business. Every business decision we made together. And we probably cleaned a dozen houses over the 2 years, but our biggest client was my old CrossFit gym. The gym owners were so supportive that they reached out to me almost immediately when they learned I owned a business. It was probably because I had the lowest quotes too lol. But yeah, my cousin and I contracted with the gym and we cleaned the gym twice a week. So that meant I came home from work, well actually, I went straight to the gym after work, did a rigorous CrossFit workout, cleaned right after the workout, THEN went home. Mondays and Thursdays I ended up not getting home until around 9:00pm. My dog hated me, I’m sure.

Why did I terminate the cleaning business? For a few reasons — 1) because I didn’t consult with God first about it; 2) it didn’t bring me joy; and 3) because it interfered with a lot of my free time. And this time of year, it would interfere with my band practice.

Yup! I said it, band practice! Your girl is in a band! Haha! We’re called “The Naughty List!” So every year, my office hosts a Holiday Party. And when I started at the public defender’s office in 2015, that was the first year a few of my coworkers got the bright idea to put on a little musical show during the holiday party. We would choose about 3 or 4 songs, sometimes write our own versions, practice a few weeks in advance, and rock out on the stage at the holiday party. Everyone looks forward to it every year! Many of my fellow attorneys at the office are crazy good musicians, too! Me, I’m just a retired violinist (and even that’s a stretch lol). I break out my violin once a year to practice for the Holiday Party. I am not as musically inclined as my fellow band members, so I was always assigned just 1 song (or even just 1 chord) so I had 2 months to practice that 1 song, and I better not mess it up on our big day!

Fun fact: I started playing the violin in 4th grade. I was in NY schools at that time, and 4th grade was when you got to select your instrument to play. The flute and clarinet were the most popular instruments, and I didn’t want to choose what everyone else chose. So I chose the violin. I was really great at the violin, too. I learned pieces really quickly and I had a lot of fun with them. But then when I moved to PA, their schools didn’t have an orchestra, just band. I was then forced to take private lessons, which you know ain’t free. And then when my other extracurricular activities began to pick up in high school, I had a choice to either let go of my private lessons or let go of the extracurriculars. I chose to let go of my private lessons. And to this day, I regret that decision.

Every time I hear a violinist playing an original piece or a cover to a song we all know, I always wish to myself I would have never stopped my private lessons. When I got to GA, I took some private lessons for about a semester, but I felt the talent was gone. It took too long for the muscle memory to come back, and I grew impatient. Then, playing in The Naughty List was my opportunity to get started again, but I never followed through. Probably like 3 years in a row, I had “practice my violin more” as one of my New Year Resolutions lol. Ask me how that went…

Is there going to be an office holiday party this year? No, I don’t think so. Is The Naughty List going to play a number this year? No, I don’t think so. (We’re trying to cook up something virtual though!) Am I going to break out my violin for its annual December practice this year? No, I don’t think so. As I’m typing this, I’m telling myself to just go pull out my violin and practice for a few minutes. It’s just so hard, and I don’t think I sound that good, so I’m like “what’s the point?”

Well, the point is: it’s okay to wear different hats. It’s okay to try new things and to start new journeys. I am and forever will be a lawyer. But as you can see, I am always dabbling in something that isn’t law-related. And I think that is extremely important when you have a stressful job like I do. Every day is not stressful and the days we are victorious remind us why we do what we do. But, the job can get draining. It can lead to burnout if you’re not careful. So music is a way to prevent that. Music is an outlet and a form of release. I know listening to and playing music is definitely therapeutic for my coworkers. And sometimes, running a cleaning business (which I thought was going to be a mindless activity) can be an outlet.

And lastly, here is a very important point: not everything is meant to last for a lifetime. Some things are only meant to last for a season in our lives from which we gain valuable lessons or skills and can apply them to our lives in another season down the line. Now, this doesn’t mean start doing a bunch of random things and never complete a project or a task. But if you’re wondering why something so great didn’t last forever, or why something so terrible was ever introduced to your life in the first place, try to remember that everything happens for a reason. Everything lined up how it was supposed to so you can be in the current space and place you are right now. Try to release those feelings of regret and the “what ifs.”

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:” — Ecclesiastes 3:1, NKJV.

Moni Jay, Off the Record