Heading into quasi-retirement is never as easy as you think, even when you are a person with many interests, and an atypical working life like I have had. I say atypical, but I only compare that to those who work in an office, or a job that has strict hours. My career, until 10 years ago when the Université de Montréal hired me to teach trombone and ensembles, was uncertain. I counted myself as one of the "chronically under-employed", even though there periods when I was working 7 days a week for months on end.
I don't miss those times. Even though it's nice to be popular and in demand, it's also nice to not have any demands on your time. With the advent of my 40th year as a professional musician, I am ready to slow down, all the while not having a clear idea of where to put my energies, and how much time I want to devote to a career that was enough to keep body and soul together (with lots of help from my wife, Vivian Lee, whose full-time OSM work kept the ship afloat through some lean years).
I am sitting in a library, and it's quiet. I have waited months for this moment, one that I always will cherish: a time set apart to reflect, to read, to write a letter to a friend, to be alone and unencumbered. And it's available to anyone with an ID card. If you want to do this in a café, it will only cost you a cup of coffee, but it's just about as satisfying. When you are at home, there is always someone or something that can draw you away; here, you have no such demands and distractions, and I count that a blessing.
