On Juggling Kids and a Career
“As a mommy, I have found it very difficult (but achievable) to study and balance that with family life. My children are past the stage of major dependence now, and I am wanting to work as soon as I am ready.”
—Queenofsong
“I suppose any career is challenging when it comes to handling family and attaining a balanced life. I am most impressed by young mothers . . . because on top of everything else there is the social perception of the role of a mother.”
—Vagabond
“Some won’t like this, but I don’t have any kids and when I decided to pursue professional opera I made the conscious decision not to have any.”
—Lucero
On Travel and Relationships
“One very famous singer who is married to a singer told me that in order for her marriage to work, she and her husband had to agree on an amount of time that they could be away. For them it was a month. After a month, they either had to come home or the other had to come for a visit at least a week long.”
—Lucero
“I try to minimize the difficulties by doing as much as I can for the house, bills, etc. before I go; and we try to manage it so he gets to come and visit at least once. If I’m driving to the gig, he usually drives with me and flies back, then flies out at the end, sees the show, and drives back.”
—CindyS
On Spouses and Career
“My husband works from home in a non-musical field and is pretty involved in my career. Fortunately for me, he is very supportive of my career, and we share the same attitude: work comes first. If one of us (usually me) has to miss an important anniversary or postpone a vacation because of work, that’s just the way it is. We may not like it, but nobody’s nose is going to get out of joint over it.”
—CindyS
“So I’ve decided to not get married and have children at all. I just know how hard it would be to split myself in half trying to take care of children and spend time with a husband. Perhaps I may rethink this in a couple years if I’m not singing full time. . . . Music is sort of like a companion for me . . . so maybe me and music will live happily ever after.”
—DivaPrincess
“I don’t agree with the poster who said that music is enough of a companion not to marry or have a family. I can understand not wanting to have kids, as I decided that myself, but I definitely think it is important to find a romantic partner.”
—Lucero
“We both make sacrifices to make it work, but that’s what a marriage is all about.”
—CindyS
On Balancing Familial Pressure
“I’m finding that my widowed mother is increasingly coming to resent my singing activities when they interfere with my ability to spend an entire day with her every weekend. . . . No doubt you can imagine just how miserable I am at having to disappoint her. ;-)”
—Karen_Mercedes
“I’ve told my family that I want to major in music because it’s been my passion since I was 2, but they’ve been discouraging me from that path in favor of a career that would bring a more stable income.”
—Gracesong
“I think that you have to try to pursue what you like to do. When you have kids and a family then it becomes more difficult as you have others that are depending on you, and sometimes you might have to make some sacrifices. But if you are single with no responsibilities you should go for what you enjoy and are good at.”
—Lucero
