About

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About

About

I am a mom, age 56, married to Dan for 26 years. We have two daughters, Chloe, who is 18, and Rachel, 13. Chloe is about to leave for college, and for months I could barely even think about it without clutching inside. As her departure draws near, and then in the months that follow, I want to chronicle this transition. In the meantime (and perhaps because of the giant shift that’s happening anyway) I am taking a good look at where I stand with my career. I have been a professional musician since I was Chloe’s age, first in a folk/rock band in the 70s, then in a medieval/renaissance ensemble, then a solo folksinger and songwriter, and now I play in a baroque orchestra. But I never received a degree in music. This blog is about my musical journey as well.

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Hi Carla,

Mazel Tov! I love your title. I do have several comments.

I love your idea of creating your own university to study music. I took a short class with a young professor at DU on the Goldberg Variations and was stretched in all kinds of ways!

Makeup-Wore little bits of it off and on and now every time I think of putting it own, I think to myself-why? So I don’t.

College-I once read about someone’s ritual for sending his/her child off to college-It involved candles and prayers and mabe more. It was in the Reconstructionist quarterly and impressed me enough that I still remember it. Our ritual was to take a mountain hike, hoping it would insure that our kids would return to Colorado. It didn’t work.

Comment by Arna— July 20, 2010 #

Reply
- Thanks so much, Arna. I never thought about creating a ritual. It seems like all we can usually manage is to actually get packed and out the door when there’s a trip coming up! And it’s hard to not have the hidden agenda of “pleasepleaseplease come back after you graduate” in mind. On all fronts, I will see what evolves!
  Thanks so much for taking the time!!
  
  Comment by rootsandchords— July 20, 2010 #
  
  Reply
Thanks, Carla. Should be an interesting fall, nu?

Comment by Sandra Cohen— July 20, 2010 #

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- Thank you, Sandy, I agree — and if I can remember to focus on the curiosity aspect of it all, maybe I’ll learn something!!
  
  Comment by rootsandchords— July 20, 2010 #
  
  Reply
Introspective, humerous, real, “sounds familiar!” —the journey conyinues…

Comment by vicki— July 20, 2010 #

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- Thanks, Vicki! I’ll keep at it!
  
  Comment by rootsandchords— July 20, 2010 #
  
  Reply
Nice blog Carla. I started out using WordPress and then switched to Blogger. It’s much easier to use.

Thank you for sharing your journey as a mom. I didn’t go through much separation anxiety when my kids went “away” to school. (They didn’t go that far since they lived at home while attending Metro State.) But I’m sure having it now. Sean is busy with work and his band is doing well. Bryson is married, working long hours and trying to build his own business making custom parts for race cars. So I hardly hear from them. It has given me an appreciation for my own mother and how she recreated her life after all her children were grown. It should be liberating, but I’m no there yet.

Let me know if there’s any questions you have about your blog – I’m happy to share my experience (for what it’s worth).
— Donlyn

Comment by Donlyn— August 7, 2010 #

Reply
- Thank you, Donlyn! I appreciate hearing from you. My brother suggested a few sites for me to look at, and Dan thought WordPress looked best for the time being, but I’m sure we will revisit this as time goes on. Also, thanks for sharing your experience as a mom. I think we all go through so many of the same steps, but in different orders and at different times — and yes! It gives us a whole new picture of what our mothers accomplished! Nice observation.
  I love watching your FB posts, and am so grateful I have had the chance to get to know all these different sides of you in recent years!
  Love,
  Carla
  
  Comment by rootsandchords— August 7, 2010 #
  
  Reply