The Dream

Being a grown-up is taking its toll on me.

And that’s not a complaint so much as an observation.  I don’t hate it.  It tires me out, but I don’t hate it.  Mostly, I love it.  I love the stability and the routine of it.  I love the options I’ve got now.  I love the freedom.  I love that I haven’t had a moment in two weeks to be bored.

Being in Nashville, I work with a lot of other musicians.  I never expected anything different.  If you’re a musician and you decide to move to Nashville and you know no one, here’s my advice to you.  Get a job.  ANY job.  Because everybody knows somebody.  But this job has put me in the path of a few musicians who are actually doing decent side business in their spare time.  Beyond their wild and crazy 18 hours of overtime a week.  And part of me is looking at them wide eyed and awestruck, incredulously asking how on earth they do it.  The rest of me is seeing how possible it is to just love music, and live your life and simply make sure you never stop doing what you love to do.  You never know… the dream might pan out eventually.  But if you can’t love your job, you work and then you love the rest of your life.

Simple.

I had the honor of playing in a really great concert tonight… the kind of concert I grew up playing.  An auditorium, a list of performers, a microphone and a piano.  One song and then you get to enjoy the show.

This concert was held to benefit Haiti and the girl who put it on has got to be one of the most incredible on the planet.  We used to work together (see?) and she knew I was a singer, so she asked me to help out.  I wholeheartedly agreed.

But I’ve been working CRAZY hours this week, and on top of that, driving two hours a day to get to work and back.  I had paper work to take care of, sleep to get, and on top of that, it was someone’s birthday this week as well.  I was busy.  I didn’t have time to pick a song or rehearse until… um… last night.

So I spent most of Friday night and all this late morning and early afternoon memorizing words and practicing chord changes and basically making sure I wouldn’t A) make a fool of myself and b) let my friend down.  I spent my one day off this week (I’m going in for more over time on Sunday) sitting in front of a piano attempting to get it right.

But then when it all came down, I got it right.  I met some awesome people, I saw people I never expected to see, and I saw a truly amazing show.

This girl?  This wonderful girl who I used to work with?  Who put this entire thing together?

Well, she came out and sang very last.
And I’m pretty sure I cried like a baby.

It was a little pathetic.

But this is it, guys.

When you’re busy in the middle, you don’t have time to get apathetic about it.  You take every free moment and you work and you make it work and it pays off in so many ways you’d never imagine it could.

I really think I’ll have my dream job someday.  I’m not afraid to do it this way for awhile if that’s what it takes.
And it is.

So I’ll be tired and often incoherent and you might not hear from me as often as you used to.  But I’m here.  And I’m working.  And singing and writing and playing.

And loving it.