pro bono publico

Yesterday was a standard issue Thursday,

get up, shower, make the beds,
drink a lot of coffee and procrastinate leaving for school as long as possible.

Sneak in the custodial entrance,
Super-cheerful "Hey, Buddy!" from Mr. Mike as I wrestle my guitar, cello and giant music teacher bag past the tractor and up to my room.
Teach all day, sneak out the minute I'm done.

Get home, straighten the kitchen, feed the boys,
take two accordions to the basement, throw in a load of laundry,
welcome adolescent boy piano student number one,
make tea for his mom,
welcome the recording engineer,
here to set up to lay down cello tracks for the tai-chi video,
see off student one and mom,
welcome adolescent boy piano student number two and his dad the cellist,
put S to bed to the strains of electronica and killer cello licks.
see off cellist and son.

Open a bottle of wine, go upstairs to study fetal skull anatomy
(structure and function of the major sutures and primary fontanelles - in case you were wondering) to the sound of organ and keyboard tracks against afaorementioned electronica / cello

Crazy, but standard EXCEPT that in between dinner and kid A, Our lawyer friend called to say that he'd set up a board to do probono legal consultation for community records.

Pro bono publico (often shortened to pro bono) is a phrase derived from Latin meaning "for the public good." The term is sometimes used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment, as a public service. It is common in the legal profession and is increasingly seen in marketing, technology and strategy consulting firms. Unlike traditional volunteerism, pro bono service leverages the specific skills of professionals to provide services to those who are unable to afford them.

In the UK, "pro bono publico" is sometimes used to describe the central motivation of large organizations such as the BBC, the National Health Service and various NGOs, which exist "for the public good" rather than for shareholder profit as well as legal or professional work.[1]

The lovely people are not only going to secure us 501c3 status (several thousand dollars worth of work) but will also act as the legal advisory board for setting up all of the recording and liscencing and copyright stuff that a record company needs.

We could never in a million years have come up with the money to pay these guys what the work would cost, but
we don't have to.
God bless Trent.

I was so excited that - during the cello recording, but after S was asleep -
I called my mom.
Who dropped another bomb.
It went something like this.

explain lawyer stuff...
"Oh, honey! That's so wonderful! Praise God!
I'm actually really glad you called. There's something I've been wanting to talk to you about."

stomach drops to my ankles as I silently panic and review what I could possibly have done to offend the pope within the last six months...

"It's about your sister."

wave of relief that it's not me...

"Your Dad and I were wondering what you'd think about her coming to live with you."