Caitlin Clow
Contributor
Music and math are intrinsically intertwined and Lida Carey is definitely one common factor in both art forms.
Lida has been teaching math at Revelstoke Secondary for the past 23 years and she’s the director of the Revelstoke Community Choir.
Teaching is what initially brought Lida to the community.
“I came when Revelstoke was having a hard time attracting and keeping teachers and when full-time continuing contracts were not typically given to first-year teachers,” she said.
This stability was crucial as Lida wasn’t alone. She was a single mother.
“I went to university the second time as a single mom after my first husband left me,” she said. “And then I broke my back. Those were tough days that I always said were bittersweet.”
“I learned so much in that tough time, but never wanted to re-live that experience. Then I fractured another vertebra last winter.”
Teaching was something Lida could pursue locally while she was living in the Okanagan, meaning she didn’t have to give up her support network that helped out with her four-year-old daughter.
“When I ended up as a single mom, I needed to establish a career,” she said. “It (teaching) was the easiest thing to get a decent job with that I didn’t have to leave the Okanagan for.”
But it wasn’t the only career path Lida had considered pursuing.
“As a kid, I wanted to be a teacher, nurse, psychologist or lawyer,” Lida said. “As I grew up, I wanted to pursue music but I decided to keep that as my hobby.”
Lida was first introduced to the piano by her mother when she was very young, but she excelled quickly and moved past her mom’s skills and required formal lessons. She started in Grade 3.
“I took them all the way to Grade 10, I believe,” she said.
“I got tired and decided to quit. I took a year or two off and then I really wanted to play for me, not just because I had to.”
Lida said she believes she learned more in those two years of lessons than she had in the rest of her years of lessons combined.
She credits this to her personal desire to learn.
From a young age, too, Lida accompanied choirs on piano.
“I have pretty much always accompanied something in one way or another since Grade 7,” she said, pointing to small groups, musicals, choirs or church.
It didn’t take long for Lida to find her way into the Revelstoke Community Choir.
During her first weekend in Revelstoke, a friend helping her move struck up a conversation with a local shop worker.
“I have no idea how they got on the topic, but by the time I had sussed out the store, she had volunteered me to play for Melanie Scarcella who was directing the choir at that time,” Lida said.
“I’ve played every season that the choir has run since I’ve been in town.”
Luckily, her hobby and her line of work share many similar qualities and require many of the same skills.
“Too many to list, probably,” she said with a laugh.
Being able to teach to a variety of learners, the pacing of lessons and ensuring there’s something of interest for every learner is key in both. Large group management skills, flexibility and understanding are also important.
“Music is math,” Lida said. “And math is an art form in itself.
“When the analytical side of music, timing, rhythm, diction, etc., meets the creative side, expressions, dynamics, feelings, pauses and rests, that’s when the magic happens.”
When Lida isn’t working with students or the choir, she always tries to help those in need of it.
“I have a small group of transplanted 20- to 30-year-olds that I ‘mom.’ I have done some tutoring and babysitting in the community and I was a greeter for every Community Pasta Feed when that ran.”
She and her husband have also opened their doors to many young adults when they needed a place to stay.
“Meeting new people and welcoming them into my family is another priority,” Lida said. “I really see myself as a connector of people. I like to help others find a place where they belong.”
But finding balance in life is still a struggle, Lida said. It’s helpful that her husband works shift work that typically has him out of town for two weeks at a time. Lida said she leans on his schedule to help her prioritize work-life balance.
“I’ll work and stay late while he’s away but when he’s home, that’s when I focus on spending time with him and connecting with friends and filling my soul that way.”
Exercise is another thing Lida tries to prioritize. When the weather’s warm, she turns to the trails either with a pair of hiking boots or with a bicycle. In the winter, she loves to go snowshoeing with her snowshoe buddy, Sandy Adams.
“She’s a machine,” Lida said.
“She challenges me to do things I never would have done on my own.”
Sandy, she said, is one person she draws inspiration from. She also admires backcountry adventurers for their openness to possibility and willingness to try new things.
Bjorg (Bee) Beuller is another woman in the community that inspires Lida.
“She looks at life lightly and laughs all the time. I just love that about her.”
“My grandpa was always my hero,” she said. “He was a chemist during the war and a lifelong prayer warrior.”
Next up, Lida said she’s really looking forward to her trip to the Big Apple. She’ll be joining an old friend she hasn’t seen in 11 years in New York.
“It’s my first time so I’m really excited.”
As for teaching, Lida said: “I’m not ready to retire at all.”
READ MORE: Women of Inspiration: Maintaining a positive headspace and being kind to yourself
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josh.piercey@revelstokereview.com
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