Please pardon typos. I am on my phone.
I am writing this as I find myself down with some sort of crud. This is what happens when I don't get enough sleep after a three hour gig, and attempt to deal with radical changes in my daily routine and diet. Not to mention the back and forth trips to the hospital and rehab center during a polar vortex, trying to sidestep invisble germs as I listen to various people cough up half a lung.
So, now, since I am sick, I cannot go see my mom today. I will try not to punish myself with too much guilt and hold onto the knowledge that I have seen her for many hours as I possibly could so far.
This experience makes me all the more in awe of my musician friends who gig more often than I do. I feel like such a wimp. Don't get me wrong, I love singing live. I just have always insisted on proper rest before and afterwards, which I did not get this time around.
Again, not complaining, just explaining.
So, that said, I am grateful for everyone who has helped me to make this trip and for everyone who has been driving us back and forth to see my mom. And grateful for a sense of humor.
Speaking of driving, this situation has prompted me to get a Lyft account, and it is costing a fortune going back and forth to the sub-acute facility. When we planned this trip, I was supposed to come out here to NJ to help my sister take care of my mom, at her place. So, I did not factor transportation into the equation. I guess that is on me, but no one expected her to have a stroke the night before I arrived. Mom seems to be doing better than when I first arrived, but the woman I once knew is no longer there. It is almost as if the twenty seven years we lived near each other in CA never existed.
This is a heartbreaking disease that takes a severe financial and emotional toll on the family. Still, these moments are precious to me.
Since this is technically, my music blog, I guess I should mention something about music before I sign off. No gigs currently scheduled, but if you haven't already, please check out some of my tracks for download and if you care to support, purchase one or two or all. Please feel free to let me know if there is a particular song you would like to hear me cover. I am open and always willing to try something new!
http://marimack.bandcamp.com
That said, please let's all be kind and respectful to each other.
Love is the only thing that transcends all.
Well, love and music (which can sometimes be one and the same.)
Ox,
Mari
P.s. You can find some tracks on Spotify, iTunes, etc. but bandcamp my preferred online outlet at the moment. They seem to care about artists, and they don't take too much of a cut.
