Off we go!

It’s been a staggeringly long time since I last wrote for Composing Kitchen. I could wring my hands about it, beat myself up about it, shut it down in defeat and resignation… but I’d rather try again and see what happens this time.

Karen and I are in the midst of a big upheaval: We are relocating, bit by bit, from Albuquerque to the Baltimore/DC area to be closer to some of my aging family members. In short, I don’t feel right about being this far away as they reach the need for care. I want to be there and be helpful — and Karen, huge-hearted as she is, essentially insisted that we go. And so off we go.

We decided this in August. Because Karen’s last job search took about six months, she jumped right in with enthusiasm – and her first two applications earned her interviews, and one of those an offer. She’s now with a right-minded, woman-owned small business that aligns very well with her personal values, judging by what we have seen so far. So she’s been gone since October 3. Meanwhile I’m holding down the fort, coordinating renovations to the house before putting it on the market, working my various jobs (composing, teaching music technology, freelance writing/editing) and exploring options in the Baltimore area.

Karen is living with my sister and paying her with excellent cooking rather than rent. For me, it’s very sweet to know that Karen is still connected with me through my family, and I’m so glad that she has my sister for company rather than being completely alone in a new part of the country on top of starting a fairly high-pressure new job. We’ve reminded ourselves many times already that plenty of families – in the military, particularly – deal with far more painful and dangerous separations every day, and we’re keeping it in perspective.

So a ton is going on for us right now, but there’s also a ton of wonderful stuff that’s happened since I last wrote and I intend to feature some of the highlights here. The short version? I got so busy with composing, and having a great time with it, that this blog fell by the wayside.

The original point of Composing Kitchen was to write about how Karen’s and my career shifts were working out in hopes of providing help, inspiration or at least the occasional knowing laugh to other musicians, artists, career-changers and attempters-of-new-things in general. So that’s what we’ll focus on.

Off we go!