Who Am I?

This is a question that I have been asking myself for the past 5 weeks. Acute bronchitis has robbed me of the thing I love most to do. It has been several years since I have been unable to sing for this long. 

Perhaps too much of my identity is wrapped up in my voice. As a teenager, my identity in my group of friends was that I was the singer. Donna was the artist, Becky, the brain, etc. I was the singer.

In college there was no doubt at all what my major would be. It was music, all the way. I soon found out that, although I had talent, I did not have the competitive fire needed to be a professional singer. Competitions involved some degree of sabotage, mind games, and some pure meanness that I just couldn't stomach. 

I married, came home to Vicksburg, and used my voice in church and community theater. I sing everywhere but in the shower. I sing in the car. I sing doing chores around the house. I sing to the radio at The Mosaic Shop while putting pieces of glass together. Best of all, I get to sing every Sunday at Hermanville United Methodist Church.

Now that I have been unable to do that for the past 5 weeks, I feel so bereft. Something vital is missing. I know that I have other talents and skills, but without singing, they lose much of their luster, being part of an incomplete package.

I have an appointment with an otolaryngologist (throat specialist) tomorrow in Jackson. I am hoping and praying that whatever is continuing to be wrong with my voice will heal. At this point, I can't even wrap my mind around anything else.