I’ll never forget the exact time my son came to me and told me he planned to be a Rock Star.  He was ending his Junior year in High School at one of the most prestigious high schools in the Twin Cities; a private college prep school.

“Mom, we need to talk,” he said.  “I’ve decided I’m going to be a rock star for a living.  And if I’m going to be a rock star I need some intense training in music theory.  So I want to transfer to the St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists for my Senior year.”

“Let me understand,” I stalled for time.  “You want to quit going to the school you’ve been going to for the past six years; where all your friends go to school; where you’re pretty much guaranteed to get into the college of your choice to go to a music charter school?  No one switches schools voluntarily in their senior year.”

He very calmly told me he’d thought about this a lot and that’s what he wanted to do.  I was scared that he was doing the wrong thing but I could hear the determination in his voice.  My mothering skills were being tested to the greatest degree with this life-altering decision.  Should I TELL him “no?”  Should I support him in the pursuit of his dream?   And I had to admit that he had been studying music since First Grade, that he loved performing with the School of Rock and that he was really a very good musician (and that’s not just a biased mother’s opinion.)  But I also had to acknowledge that the chances of becoming a rock star are about the same as becoming a professional athlete. And I told him so.  His response, “Yeah, but someone’s going to do it so why shouldn’t I be that someone?”

Yes, I had reservations.  But I also remembered my High School boyfriend who was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies to play professional baseball.  I tried to talk him out of turning pro so young; to go to college.  He chose to go to the Phillies and played pro baseball his entire career.  My son had the same passion for music that my teen heartthrob had for baseball. I had to support him.

Fast forward a couple of years.  My son is attending Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA.  He’s teaching at the School of Rock Music there.  He is going to more and more auditions though hasn’t connected with the “right band” yet.  He’s learning many of life’s lessons….like clothes don’t wash themselves and when you no longer live at home dinner isn’t waiting for you when you walk in the door.  If you turn off the alarm no one will wake you up to make sure you aren’t late for school.  And managing money so it lasts all month is a really hard thing to do.

At the same time he is growing into a man that I like, that I respect and that I think could actually achieve his goal.  He’s level headed, hard working and willing to do what it takes to earn his way.

From a mom’s perspective, there’s one other thing that is more important than anything else- he is very happy.  I think I made the right decision.

This mom thing is HARD.