In an article in The Boston Globe in 2000, our son Seth referred to his mother and father as his “Classical-Music-Loving-Parents”.  That was an accurate characterization of his parents then and now.

I thought of his comment last weekend when Peter and I attended a concert at the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, Massachusetts.  The concert featured the world’s nicest and probably best cellist, Yo Yo Ma, playing Dvorak’s cello concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

That concert could not have come at a better time for me.  The last four weeks have been stressful.  Deciding to leave my job was a huge decision.  Starting graduate school classes six days later was a bit of a shock.  And who knew how complicated it is to retire?

But sitting on a cloudless August Saturday afternoon, listening to the soaring notes of a magnificently-played Dvorak cello concerto brought me a sense of calm that I hadn’t felt in days.

I can hear the cello in my head as I write,