The Dark Years

This blog post is the third in a series documenting my journey from musician to author:

Teaching general music and chorus in middle school turned out to be a great experience, but soon my husband’s job took us to Fredericksburg, Virginia where no positions in my field were available. I had discovered a passion for teaching music to children only to have that door close. 

Survival dictated that I search for a job, any job, and I ended up working as a personnel clerk in a retail business. I felt lost and frustrated, hidden away in a dark office with no windows doing work that didn’t interest or inspire me. But I was bringing home a paycheck. I saved enough to buy a used piano and began taking piano students. I joined a church choir and a community chorus where there were solo opportunities. Good, I thought. At least I’m using my music degree and keeping my skills honed. I’ll bide my time. 

Nine months later, my husband landed his dream job as an aerospace engineer for NASA. I was thrilled for him, but it meant another move, this time to Hampton, Virginia. I transferred within the same retail organization, but now I was working in the credit department at a job I grew quickly to despise. I was expected to make abusive phone calls to customers whose payments were delinquent and to lie to applicants about why their credit was denied. I couldn’t follow these directions in good conscience, and I quit after a few months of barely surviving each work week. Once again, I built my piano studio and prayed for spiritual direction. I also became pregnant with our first child. 

Soon my prayers were answered. I saw an advertisement for a music ministry position in a United Methodist Church. I sent my resume, went for an interview, and was hired, pregnancy and all. This job rescued me from darkness and gave me four satisfying years as a choir director for adults and children. It also resulted in many valued relationships and ignited two more passions, choral conducting and music ministry. 

But how did I become a writer? Arriving at that career took many more years. Stay tuned to my weekly blogs to find out. 

Cindy L. Freeman is the author of two award-winning short stories, and three published novels: Diary in the Attic, Unrevealed (second edition now released) and The Dark Room. Website: www.cindylfreeman.com