Music

After cancer care we were eager to put our kids into activities that would get them out of the house, activities to kind of erase their memories with fun. We sat each of them down, in hope of finding something that they would be passionate about. The excitement was palpable. 

During a week home during cancer care, one Family Home Evening was spent around the piano. As the voices of my children sang out, mingling with strains of the piano I learned to play on as a child, tears streamed down my face. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. For those few moments, our house felt like a true Heaven on Earth, to me. Wanting my children, but especially my daughters, to have the same chance, I made the decision that, along with their chosen activities, they would also take piano. It was a fight from the very beginning. 

I was asked why they were taking from another teacher, since I can play and have actually been a teacher before. My explanation: I never wanted my kids to feel pressure or stress that they were somehow letting me down. I also knew that I wouldn't regularly make time for their lessons. If something came up in the home, I'd pass over their lesson, promising to do it another time. It wouldn't be consistent, which is crucial. If I have an appointed time time be somewhere, I never miss, and am never late. This is why my kids took lessons from someone else. And cried and whined and gnashed their teeth every single day of their young lives. I soon realized that the only reason I learned as well and as fast as I did, was because I had a deep-rooted desire to do it. And so we allowed our kids to stop taking piano lessons. This hurt my heart, but also lightened my load. 

Since their quit dates, I have actually heard more piano practicing than ever before. Each time they pass the piano on their way to or from the front room, they each pluck a few keys. They'll stop in their tracks to quickly play a piece they have memorized. Although they won't have the same experience I had, listening to their children sing to their accompaniment, they still play the piano. I still hear music in my home. 

Oh, how I love music!