Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.

The title of my blog today is quote I by Anais Nin, and it reflects perfectly my thoughts on this day before my "launching".

I am married to a wonderful man, Tom Downard.  Not only am I deeply in love with this guy after all we have lived through together, but he is my best friend so I don't spend a lot of time with others.  And that is just fine for me.  That doesn't mean we are joined at the hip, but I just enjoy being with him, and he with me.  I consider myself a lucky woman because Tom accepts me for who I am, flaws and all.


Tom is a professor of communication studies at Northeastern University and a very smart man.  He's not only a great and loving husband, but a wonderful father.  And his values are my values.  We share common ground and that, my friends, can sustain love for a lifetime.  It's just much more rich,  loving a man you also like and admire.  


We have one daughter, Lydia who is a violinist and a blue haired character.  Being an only child has never been a drawback for her or us.  Her initials are, ironically, LTD.  She spends  a lot of time with us and and as a family we are very close.  I stayed home, as a mother, until she went to school and then continued only part-time until she was older, an investment (costly, I am constantly reminded) whose dividends go far beyond the capitol to renovate our home or buy more consumer goods. We have a daughter who is not only level headed, but has a deep-rooted belief in the arts, and a faith to believe in herself and others.  She is a kind person.


Lydia goes to the Boston Arts Academy and plays violin and viola.  This summer she has been part of the Berklee Five Week program,  on full scholarship.  I will miss the first concert she is in because of being in New York.  I don't think I have missed more than one concert (if that) her entire life, and she has been in music since she was three years old, when she started with Dalcroze Eurhythmics.


So it is a very big deal that I am going to New York this first weekend in August by myself.  I am going to participate in dance,  and see as much dance, music or theatre as I am able.  When I return that time alone will allow me to share with others, seeing much more objectively than I am able to do, filtered through the lens of family life.  


Seeing it through my own eyes initially,  though scary in some ways, will be very revealing and renewing.  This blog will serve as my witness as I write what my first impressions, in the process of re-inventing myself as an artist.

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage. Anais Nin