The Life I never dreamed was possible

       Ever since I moved to my current home in Petersburg, NY, I have said that I am living the life I never even dreamed was possible.  I won’t go into the sordid details of why that is true, just know that after too many years of struggle, I am still amazed.  My family responsibilities have lessened dramatically; although I’m certainly not rich, I am financially solvent; my life is mostly stress-free, other than the usual minor annoyances; I have a loving partner who is as easy going as I am, who shares the same ideals and beliefs, who is sharing a comfortable common lifestyle with me; and my home is peaceful and beautiful, surrounded by nature, the kind of home I’ve always looked for.  All of these things have freed me up to pursue those dreams I never let myself have until now.  As if all of those things aren’t enough, my home has a professional recording studio on the top floor and an incredible sound engineer to go along with it. 
        I have been a musician my entire life and working professionally since I was 15.  I also started raising a family when I was 22 and struggled economically throughout.  I continued doing gigs and writing songs, played with my husband, Paul Cavanaugh, in a rock band and dreamed of being able to release a CD someday.  Alas, we never pulled that off.  However, I finally did release a CD of mostly original folk songs and tunes in 2009 with my next partner, Dick Kavanaugh.  We were Cavanaugh & Kavanaugh.  That was thrilling and satisfied that goal.  I started focusing more on my songwriting after that, booking singer/songwriter gigs, going to more workshops, etc.  Around that same time, I started writing a blog and a series of memoirs.  For years, people told me that I should write a book about my adventurous life but the idea of writing a whole book felt too overwhelming, so I started writing short memoir pieces.  Then, after a music class one day, a dad from one of my classes asked if he could trade recording time for his daughter’s classes.  Of course, I said yes and decided to try to do a solo CD.   
        During this process, I met Joel Patterson.  He really is the “finest man.”  We hit it off immediately and, after months of commuting back and forth between Petersburg and Albany, we realized how silly it was to keep two homes.  So, he invited me to move in.  I had been a member of a memoir group that met monthly and, one time, shared a song I’d written that went along with the memoir for that month.  They knew that I was working on this CD and suddenly suggested an album concept of spoken word memoirs for each song.  I mentioned it to Joel, who recorded all of the memoirs, the last three songs and mastered everything.  Now, including an archival CD of General Eclectic, the rock band with Paul Cavanaugh, I have three CD releases of three very different styles of music.

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        So back to today … I have a new single.  Dandelion Wine came into the studio last night to record “Finest Man.”  I love this band!  We work well together, and everyone brings something different to the mix.  We’re all flexible and easy-going, and we’ve learned to go with the musical flow when necessary.  I love that connection that all of the players get after working together for a while.  The communication happens through the music almost without the need for words.  These guys have been so accepting of the different genres of music I present and of learning more new songs than they might usually be working on, including my originals.  And, I thank them.
        When you live a life of hardship, you stop dreaming big.  You take on an acceptance of whatever comes your way without expectations.  It’s necessary to do that in order to survive intact.  That’s why it’s so big when the things you never dreamed about just drop in your lap.  In the past year, I have formed a band, gone to China, released an EP of children’s songs, released three music videos and now will be releasing an original single.  Wow!  Life is good!  I am eternally grateful!

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