My husband and I are musicians. And we’re parents. When we are onstage, we do our best to really be ON stage. But all our “backstage” experiences with our son (our little frog) deeply affect who we are as people, thus musicians. Recent insights: 

We’re home in Boston after 3 weeks in Thailand. It snowed our first day back. The jet lag and the extreme temperature shift put me in a foul mood–and sparked a serious conversation about relocation.

(It’s not just the weather in the Northeast… it’s how the harsh climate here sets up a real indoor life for all of us here. And it makes it hard to get around, stroll to meet friends…)

Anyway, our son was enthusiastic about the snow. Thanks to his dad, there was a spirited celebration of bundling up and building a snow cave.

It snowed again a few days later. And then it snowed again. It has been exasperating for me. Too bad I was only thinking of myself. A few days later, little Nigel said,

What? I thought he was totally rocking with the winter?! I asked him why he’d changed his tune.

Well, there you go. Probably not too late to turn this aversion around. But it’s a swift reminder of how we affect each other. Of course, I don’t need to beat myself up about this (I don’t have the energy to!). But I’ll do my best to stay neutral on some of my personal preferences, to let my kid develop his own.