Next week we leave for the East coast where we will play a few shows and finish tracking our latest album with Dan Ledwell in Lake Echo, Nova Scotia. The first half of the album was recorded way back in February, in the depths of Canadian winter And by depths I mean 70cm of snowfall falling over 24 hours, and snowing us in for two days. This time we have sun and swimming to look forward to!
I **LOVE** being on tour with Kerri & Sue and making music for my living. And I’m especially excited to finish up the new record – but the road also often means saying goodbye to my 4-year-old daughter Annie. If only there were some way to suspend time…being away from her is the hardest part of touring these days. It is not getting easier as the years go by – she is more conscious of my absence, and I miss the heck out of her.
A is a great presence in our household. She’s “obsessed” (her word not mine) with predators and with princess dresses, with nature facts and dancing. She can talk a mile a minute, something I’m pretty sure she learned from touring with the Good Lovelies for the better part of 3 years. Annie is also smart as a whip and keeps us laughing. Just the other day she told us that her 1-year-old brother Wally was “making a face that looked like Donald Trump.”
When A is not around it’s…quiet.
Photo by Helen Pie @helenpiephoto and Jen Ochej @jenochej
Before I go, I like to leave her little notes, and get her clothing and a few meals prepared for the time I’m away. My better half is my ideal co-parent and is more than capable, but taking care of some of the little things makes me feel like I am there for her (from afar). This time around, we’ve also signed her up for a few camps that will keep her distracted and busy. One of those camps is called “survival camp.” I cannot wait to hear what kind of shenanigans she’ll be up to.
I try to make our goodbyes swift and painless. It’s too hard to draw it out. It almost feels like I am ripping a Band-Aid; the hours before departure are harder than the days immediately after!
For those of you worried about my weary heart, fear not. I’ll have my boy Wally along for this tour and the recording sessions. W was born 15 months ago in the Chinese Zodiac year of the Monkey, and he is just that – a silly, bouncy bulldozer who has ruined my home and filled my heart!
I really wasn’t prepared for “the destructor” (our loving nickname for the kid). Touring with Annie, in retrospect, was a breeze. (Though I haven’t kept it up recently, I have a blog where I chronicled those adventures with Annie. You can read it at www.momontheroad.ca). Annie was – and is – easy-going and prone to sitting still. Wally, while still easy going, is constantly running away from me toward DANGER. The soundtrack of his baby giggles accompanies my mini heart attacks. All in all it’s adorable/insane. I would write a blog about it but honestly I’m too busy chasing him.
We have a full year ahead releasing a new album and touring Europe, the UK, Canada, the United States and Australia. My love Colin and I are trying to spend many of those tours together on the road with our wee ones to make sure that our family unit stays healthy and happy. We often joke that we lead a very rich life…Emotionally.
All I can say is thank goodness for Facetime. Wish us luck.
xo
Caroline B.
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Summer Tour Dates (for tickets visit our Tour Page)
13 July 2017 – Halifax NS, The Syrup Factory
14/15 July 2017 – Kempt Shore NS, Maritime Acoustic Festival
16 July 2017 – Port Hawkesbury NS, Granville Green
16 August 2017 – Beamsville ON, Redstone Winery
17 August 2017 – Gravenhurst ON, Peter’s Players
18 August 2017 – Buckhorn ON, Buckhorn Fine Arts Festival
19/20 August 2017 – Owen Sound ON, Summerfolk Music Festival
