It was from my mother's caregiver and friend that she'd had a severe stroke and I was to fly to Arizona immediately. She was not expected to survive. What to do??! Since I was bound to the contract of the wedding, I could cancel and since it was the day before, I could not find a replacement that quickly. Fortunately, my sister was able to fly out there that night and I booked a flight for the day after the wedding.
Then there was the challenge of how to get through the wedding? It is a happy and emotional event and I was dealing with possible death of my mother. It didn't help that many of the songs I was playing for the reception were songs I grew up with and reminded me of my mother. "Moon River," "Light My Fire" by Jose Feliciano, "What the World Needs Now," selections from "The Sound of Music."
Of course I didn't sleep much the night before either and yet there was no turning back. As they say in the music biz, "The show must go on." And so I arrived at the wedding and did my best. I actually found that focusing on the music and concentrating on my cues and being there for others helped keep me in a grounded state. It turned out the songs all went well and everyone seemed pleased.
You never really know what's going on with someone. I played for all those people in their happy occasion, all the while trying to keep my sorrow and fear at bay.
It turns out that upon getting home from the wedding, I learned from my sister that my mother made much progress and she is now undergoing rehab. My sister has been there with her and we decided for me to come later in order to stretch out our support of her.
It's just an example of the kind of dedication it takes to do this work at times. People say I am "living the dream" to be a professional musician and yes that is true. But it is not always easy! Still, I was grateful everything worked out!
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