Deceased drummer’s mom says “let them follow their passion”

The words of a mom who lost her adult son have stayed with me today. Her 30-year-old son Devon Clifford died after collapsing on-stage at the Rickshaw Theatre in downtown Vancouver on Friday night while drumming with his band You Say Party! We Say Die! The young man suffered massive bleeding in his brain caused by a cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) he’s had since birth but never knew.

Mom Edna Clifford offered this advice for parents of kids like her son who “stayed off the beaten path” as writer Francois Marchand put it in his article Bandmates, family, friends mourn drummer Devon Clifford’s sudden death published by CanWest in The Gazette Online.

“We want to say to musicians and parents, ‘Even though your (children have) chosen a path that you might not have wanted them to, or know will be a hard one for them, if they need that in their life, then let them follow their passion and encourage them and support them as best you can. Devon was really satisfied with his music. It was all about him, his band and their fans.”

Like this mom, I want to support and encourage my son to do what he loves. I see too many adults who have lost touch with their passion – don’t even know it exists. They don’t know what they want to do in their lives because their passion faded away some time between childhood and adult life as they bowed to the pressures and expectations of others. Many of these folks can rediscover their passion but it’s hard work and better not to lose it in the first place. Kudos to moms like Edna, who encourage their kids’ interests instead of forcing them into what they or others think they are “supposed” to do.