Recently deceased Canadian Jazz pianist wrote this song ("Jump for Joy") when his son Jesse was born. But listening to it on the way home from my flight lesson today, I was thinking it makes a great analogy for x-wind landings, also...
First, especially if you're flying circuits, is the relative calm of the downwind. Approach set up is coming, but at this point, the plane is just flying... then as you turn base, there's lots to be done, lots to set up with each hand -- left hand clicks the radio to make the "turning base" call, and stays on the control column (steadily "playing the bass line", only in a cross wind landing, it's slightly off kilter due to wind, kind of like the bass line in this piece of music), right hand trims, then you do your landing checks and then it gets fun -- once you set up your approach and turn final, depending on how much cross wind there is, every limb is doing something different -- aileron, a/s, rudder, throttle, and then as you have it all working together in symbiotic synchronicity and are on short final, it is.... JAZZ!!!! But it doesn't end there, in a cross-wind landing, even the flare is not "the end", because you have to still make the finest adjustments right at the very end in order to land gently... first on one wheel, then the other... then ever so subtly the nosewheel settles and... there you are!
Jump for Joy! :)