I must admit that I am a bit of a control freak…I believe many musicians are because we sort of have to be to achieve success in our field. When things feel like they are spinning out of control such as during, oh, I don’t know- a global pandemic and my husband enduring an eight-day … More On Letting Life Unfold
I am sitting in the guest room, numb with fatigue, just on the other side of the wall from my sweet Dan who is quarantined in our bedroom. After this eight-day ordeal of ERs, an appendectomy, hospital stays, a COVID-19 diagnosis, and a myriad other awful experiences, Dan and I are both quietly overjoyed to … More On Stitching Two Hearts Back Into One
I woke up in a panic very early this morning, fresh from a spate of horrible nightmares. My dreams were filled with loss, feelings of heart wrenching grief over losing several people very dear to me, both past and present. It still feels so real that I can’t even type their names. It had to … More Less is More
I have always functioned best in every area of my life when I have a set routine. Free time is difficult for me, as I float from task to task, getting absorbed in details or lost in my thoughts and dreams. Total INFJ. However, give me a schedule and a set of objectives and I … More On Creating Routine in Chaos
I am writing from the back seat of my trusty Mini Cooper Countryman somewhere in Tennessee, heading home to Dan after a recital tour with my dear friends, Diane and Mark. Mark is driving, as I developed some sort of respiratory funk yesterday and am in quarantine. This has been a whirlwind few weeks, filled … More Thoughts from the Back Seat
The older I become, the more like my mother I realize I have become. Okay, who are we kidding? I’ve always been Dorothy’s daughter, just as my sister, Linda, is. And just like with Mom, our beloved ‘Heavy D’, things seem to happen to us- often comical things that don’t happen to otherwise normal people. … More On Being Dorothy’s Daughter
This has turned out to be yet another stressful fall semester full of travel and performances and life; all such wonderful things, just a lot. So far, since September I have traveled to give recitals and masterclasses in Lincoln, Denver, and Atlanta with my BFF and our Amicitia Duo, to London and Bath, England, with … More Fall Back, Spring Forward
I have never given birth, but I have wiped the tears of many a child. I have never known the joy of raising a son or daughter, but I have fostered the dreams of many. I am a teacher, one who believes in every single student who crosses my path, doing my best to encourage … More For the Childless Mother on Mother’s Day
I left for Los Angeles very early Thursday morning after a frantic week of instrumental juries and exams during finals week. I had been asked by my clarinet maker, Backun Musical Services, to finally do a project that has been in the works for quite some time; a set of educational videos geared toward band … More Vanilla Ice, Bumpy Rides, and Fifteen Minutes of Fame in LA-LA Land
I woke up this morning to see this.And this: This was after a late night of cleaning up from a faculty gathering that we hosted until close to midnight. It was a lovely party, but we were wiped out after working to make sure that the house, yard, and decks were in tip-top Gainey shape, … More Sunday Morning Gratitude: Teacher Edition
The View from Here 