Ten years ago this month my daughter Dove and I moved to Los Angeles from Bainbridge Island, Washington. We literally packed everything we owned into a truck, leaving everyone we knew so she could have a shot at her dream of being a professional actor and singer. She was 14, and brought a resume filled with community theatre roles and some vocal training.
It was a long shot, and we knew it. In case we forgot, just about everyone we came across made sure to remind us. Some of them were well meaning and some … not so much. It’s an interesting truth that when you decide to pursue a dream, some people will be supportive and some people will be triggered.
It would have been easy to give in to the doubters. To never leave our small town, or to give up at certain dark moments. But what is easy in the moment is often hardest over time. I couldn’t bear to look back someday and ask, “what if…?”
I was OK with trying and failing. But I was not OK with not trying.
Every one of the best things in my life has come from taking a risk of some kind.
This adventure has been no exception. We were prepared for the possibility of failure. We could not have possibly known how astonishingly well things would go.
Has it been easy? Of course not.
Has it been worth it? Without a moment’s hesitation, yes.
Looking back, I think I believed I would move back “home” after Dove turned 18. But when that day arrived it was obvious that she still needed significant parental support. And by then I had turned my own corner, surprising myself with the realization that Los Angeles had become home.
When we embark on an adventure, we cannot know where it will take us. If we know, then it’s not an adventure.
Dove is 24 now, and the adventure continues. She lives about 15 minutes away, and her sister Claire lives about halfway between us, teaching singing to students all over the world, having become one of Hollywood’s most sought-after vocal coaches. I’m doing work that’s aligned with my purpose, and sharing a beautiful home with someone I’ve waited all my life to find, both of us brought to LA by the dreams of our daughters.
There’s a lot of poetry here, between the lines.
Thank you for being part of our journey. I’m excited to see what the next chapters bring.