Dear All--

Believe me, thank you all for the "attitude adjustment" and laughs, and moral support, and UNDERSTANDING!!!

No, I'm not about to *pay* someone to take this instrument off my hands! :) And I don't think I'm ready to take it out to a bar gig, but we don't play many of those anyway.

HOWEVER, yesterday, I got home from work, took the thing out of it's case (I swear it said "Ahhhhhhh....!") put my student guitar into the Martin case (it may have said "Ahhhhhh...." too!) and hung the Martin on the instrument stand. Then I took a deep breath, made sure I was well away from anything that I could possibly bash, picked up the guitar, and did my practice session. And when I was done, I hung it back on the instrument stand, and it stayed there safely all night, and it was still there this morning. When I looked at it this morning, I reminded myself that my student guitar has hung in that exact spot for over 3 years, and hasn't been ruined. (though it has picked up some dings, which I henceforth shall see as marks of character, wisdom, and experience...)

Now all I have to do is keep this perspective on a gig, while dealing with performance anxiety, memory lapses, and cramped spaces!

One Step At A Time--"progress, not perfection!"