Sunday, June 26th I am on a plane sitting next to my best friend and duo partner, Diane, as we make our way to ClarinetFest®️ in Reno, Nevada. This will be our first gathering of the International Clarinet Association in almost three years thanks to Covid. We are hoping for a fun and drama-free time, … More On Finding Peace in Pieces
My best friend and duo partner, Diane, and I have been traveling together to rehearse and perform for many of our almost forty years of friendship. Right now we are in the mountains of western North Carolina, enjoying a lovely cabin as we celebrate the end of Diane’s third battle with cancer, rehearse for our … More On the Aging Clarinetist
For so long I thought that being different was something to hide. I learned to blend in, no matter what it cost me. Blending in was safe, no pressure to pretend to be anything special. But… blending in is inauthentic and the older I become the more I want to be authentically me. So now … More Stand Out
Today is my 59th trip around the sun. It’s actually been one of the loveliest birthdays that I can recall; gentle, peaceful, fun, and filled with love. I am reminded again and again how fortunate I am to have a wealth of wonderful folks in my life. It truly is humbling as I receive messages … More Birthdays in the Here and Now
As I age and wisdom reveals itself in silvery strands of gray and memories bittersweet, I see with crinkled eyes all that the dewy innocence of youth hid from me. With each encroaching wrinkle I laugh at the dread once felt to reach this place. There is nothing to fear, only freedom as I finally … More As I Age
I have crossed through some sort of personal barrier since December, one that I’ve attempted to do battle with for quite some time but just never could break through to the other side. The passage was nothing dramatic, no fireworks or grand revelations; just a quiet shift in a new direction for which I have … More On the Evolution Revolution
Fifty-seven. How in the world can I be turning fifty-seven? I can remember so clearly standing in front of the bathroom mirror in the house I grew up in on the morning of my sixteenth birthday, scrutinizing my as yet unlined face, feeling ancient and wondering what I would look like when I reached the … More Birthday Thoughts
When will the day come- not too far away- to let my hair reclaim it’s true shade? To welcome the freedom of silvery strands, proudly gray? The time to let go of unnecessary worries and embrace this precious, fleeting moment? Wisdom hard won, love hard fought. In youth we fear age, run from it, kicking … More Gray
At the ripe old age of fifty-six, I have reached an entirely epic new level of Poppins sexy with the addition of the torture device known as compression hose. I had a procedure done last Thursday on some uncomfortable very gross veins…oh, wait- that’s what Dan thought they were called when he was a kid. … More On a Whole New Sexy
I have written so much about my mother, always trying to portray her as the imperfect and very real woman that she was. To me, her imperfections and quirkiness were what made her special and so very strong. After all of these years, maybe I’m finally allowing myself that same understanding. I have struggled unsuccessfully … More Imperfect
The View from Here 