The past two months since I found my son Mike have been an adventure in family like I never expected. Well, I couldn’t have anticipated how any of this might have unfolded – we all just dove in and are continually reveling in all the ways it has turned out to be beyond anything we could have imagined. They spent two and a half weeks with us on Bowen, and then we headed south to Portland to meet up with my sister Barb and brother Steve – Mike’s “new” aunt and uncle and cousins. And then we headed south to Eugene for another several days. We were all amazed that the visit was longer than any of us had ever braved with family, or anyone else, in our lives, and yet we never tired of each other. Mike’s wife Ann, a doula and childbirth educator, is a precious gem of a woman – full of light and life and energy and fire . I adore her. She’s become an invaluable force in helping Julia sort out her plans for University She and Mike have both attended the University of Oregon in Eugene (where Mike is currently getting his Masters in Architecture) and it was SO helpful in getting her focused on what she wants out of her education.
Read MoreIt has been almost 3 weeks since I miraculously found my 39 year old son Mike, whom I gave up for adoption when I was 16. Okay, I guess any lying about my age is no longer an option. It has been the experience of a lifetime, to be sure. We originally thought his already planned trip North with his wife Ann and daughter Abigail at the end of August would be the ideal time to meet, but within 2 days of our first conversation, it was clear to both of us that it was going to be impossible to wait until then. He got the first flight he could. We knew from the first phone call that our communication was effortless, but I couldn't have fully anticipated the degree of ease with which he would connect with Julia and my entire world.
Read MoreMy dear friends,
I have decided I need to write about this most miraculous turn of events in my life, as it is such an uplifting and inspiring story.
Some of you may know that I bore a child when I was barely 16 years old. (I was a poster child for the need for Sex Ed in the schools, let me tell you - thank god times have changed!). He was born in the unwed mothers' home I was sent to in San Francisco and, thanks to my mother's wise influence, gave him up for adoption. I have never been secretive about this part of my past, and even wrote a song about him in the late 70's called "Myterious Child". I have pictures his birth father and me holding him in "The Last Hour" we were allowed to hold him before I handed him off to the void. I tearfully signed the adoption papers a week later and a few weeks after that received a letter from the Children's Home Society briefly describing the family who adopted him as a lovely couple who enjoyed camping. (That's all I recall anyway).
I’d venture that the past several months have been the busiest of my 35-year career in music. Other than missing being home with Julia and the dog and the garden, it’s been fantastic. I finished scoring the NFB film, “The River of Life” the day before the Pumkin left on its 44-show tour of children’s festivals across the country. I had actually hoped to have the film score finished before the Pumkin rehearsals started, but the fact that I didn’t meant the juggling of time and making sure that neither got short-changed was – whoa – let’s just say I didn’t get a lot of sleep.
Spring ROCKS!
As we finally emerge from what has felt like eternal winter, my world has been sending out shoots & blossoms like everything else at this time of year. As we speak I am in the thick or rehearsing with the Pumkins (who, coincidentally, true to their image, are currently sitting around the kitchen table eating granola for breakfast). I’m going to post a photo of the cover of the new Pumkids CD – with a painting I did (my first) which to my great delight became the cover for the CD. The album has taken on a life of it’s own (thanks to the force-of-nature efforts of Valerie Hennel who produced it AND the tour we are about embark on.) We are LOVING this record, as it seems are all who have received it.