How have things been going for you?

“Brutal”, “challenging”, “not even talking about it,” “scary”... what is your word to describe how work has been for you in the last year?

I’m putting together some thoughts on this subject and I need to hear from you musicians. If you want to send me info at hannah@musicvillage.ca I would be really glad. If you want your name to remain anonymous for the writing I do, please put something like “don’t use my name” in the subject heading.

I guess that I can’t ask people to share without sharing myself, so here goes. This year has been bad, really bad. When the economy was tanking, I was enjoying collecting employment insurance and taking care of my baby, Etienne. I didn’t even notice, really, how things started to slow down for my musician husband. I was thinking to myself that EI was not great money, but that soon I’d be back to my work as a Music Director.

Then things changed really fast.

I was laid off from my position as MD, and had no work, not a thing. EI ended, and I was scrambling to find something to do to make money. I wanted to apply for composition grants, but couldn’t get to it, as I was so busy taking care of the baby and doing home stuff, while my husband went out to do jobs. I was looking at retail, or restaurants, or anything. I went to interviews for music schools that wanted me to invest $500 for certification and spend three months in training, even though I’ve been teaching and training since I was a teenager.

So what did I do?

I got Music Village up and running. I set up our website, made online presence and am going through my contacts to let them know about the work that we do. I’ve gone to networking sessions and training sessions.
I’m looking for publication for my children’s book. I’m making my album (on credit). I’m putting myself and the artists I represent out there so that people can find us and bring us for their live events. I’m writing and recording music it for film. And on and on...

I’m interested to hear from you. How have you felt through the last year? What have you done to make things last? How have you felt yourself represented in the media? What does your community look like right now.

You can respond to me at hannah@musicvillage.ca. I think it’s important for our community and our city to hear how we’ve been coping.

When things are tough, remember that “this too shall pass.” This is just a season in our lives.

Hannah

Motherhood

Is there anyone else out there who finds that taking care of your company and taking care of your children/husband is a little nuts?

Here's the question that I like to avoid:  "How's motherhood treating you?"  It feels loaded and people don't want to hear the answer that you are thinking.  Many people expect to hear the word "great" and then we move on to more interesting topics.  But are you ever tempted to say "Motherhood is a joy, I still have back fat, my new perfume is barf, my son cries every time I am not holding him, and my husband wonders where the passion is?"  I can relate to Eva Longoria Parker's statement "My husband deserves to see a wife who doesn't have to tuck her boobs into her pants."  Thank the Lord for Sophia's lingerie on the Danforth!

If you can tell me the secret to being a professional and a mom, I'll give you my EI maternity leave salary. 

I have a company called Music Village.  We provide music education, live music entertainment,  and we write music.  We've written the soundtrack to a feature length film, "the Devil's Tail,"  we've written an educational workshop for the Oakville Symphony Orchestra that was  presented for high school youth,  we provide music for events and write music for my band.  AND, lots of those successes I made while pregnant or caring for my infant.   My team is great at what we do, namely, making sure that you love the music you are hearing and/or learning!

There are lots of moms and dads (or moms and moms or dads and dads, or just mom and just dad, and people taking care of other people's kids) that are a lot like me.   So caregiver -  treat yourself to a massage, because let's face it - Who wants a pat on the back?

This blog isn't just intended for moms and women, men, you are welcomed guests too.   This is a blog about a person who has a job and a family and who thinks you can have it all.  

Now, on to breastfeading. Pass me the KD and a fennel tea chaser.