Happy Birthday, Mom!!!
[ The following was published a while back when my mother FINALLY retired. I didn't think I could improve on the earlier piece, and some of my friends agreed! However, I have added some minor thoughts at the end as a coda, because one never knows how much time is left. That said, for those that never read the original essay that I cannot improve upon, I believe the following is enough to make my case for the greatest Mom...EVER! Thank you for your patience. ] Back in the mid-1950s, a young woman was making a decision that would lay out the story of the rest of her life. She was trying to decide whether to choose a career in nursing (which would seem to be the practical choice) or to take a great leap of faith and try the more difficult, but no less rewarding and fulfilling, path towards a career in performative, concert music...specifically, the road to being a concert pianist. Not to put too fine a point on it, but her choice would have huge ramificatio...