Music In the House

This week is an exciting one at our house. We, finally, after a VERY long time, have a mostly tuned piano and a tuned flute!

You see, growing up, I was all about the music. It was my day in and day out obsession. Punishment for me was usually being told that I could not play the piano for a period of time. The piano was moved into my bedroom to minimize the distraction to everyone else's life. If I was not playing music myself, I was listening to it. My dreams revolved around being a concert pianist touring the world.

Enter life. I am actually a stay-at-home mother of four, living in a rented brick ranch in a military town who has not had a tuned piano in 13 years. Between nursing school and mothering four, I lost the passion I had for the music. Year after year would pass, and I felt sadness that my children were not going to able to love it the way I did. The idea that there was always a more pressing bill to pay than there was a need to put money into a piano I did not have time to play, placed my love for the music low on the priority list.

Many changes; many moves. Now, having one teenager and another not far behind, I was faced with a time issue. I only had so much time left to nurture my children in the musical arts. This was going to be the year. Our family was going to become a musical family. I pulled my old flute down from the shelf and felt discouraged when it appeared to be broken. I had no idea how to fix it or where to go. I really wasn't sure I would even remember how to play it, but......I actually did. Truly, it is nothing special. I had mostly taught myself so there is much I didn't know. A little shopping on Amazon, and I had ordered a book on playing the flute that had come greatly recommended.

My husband saw the desire and the need and found a place to go to take my flute. In a few short minutes my flute was tuned and greased. Ready for whatever beautiful melodies I would soon be able to master and share with the world.

Within the last few weeks I had also seen advertisements for a particular piano tuner who was new to the area and was, therefore, charging less than everyone else. He also happened to be a Christian. I just did it! I mean I emailed and said, "I am interested in having our piano tuned." It really wasn't as hard as I was expecting. We scheduled a time for this week and I lived worrying that he would chastise me for the neglect I had shown toward my beloved instrument. So when he arrived, I sheepishly explained the situation, and I must say, he was very kind.

On removing the front of the piano, he asked if it would be ok to bring in his shop vac. Gulp. "Ah, yes, of course. Is it really dusty?" (ashamed look on my face). He then handed me a calling card and a Chuck E. Cheese ID and said "Well, there are quite a few things in the mechanism." Now, tell me please, what concert pianist would allow "quite a few things in the mechanism"?

As he worked, I busied myself with kitchen clean up, homeschooling and pacing. Could my poor neglected piano be fixed? He worked for what seemed like forever, and I was becoming sure that the price must be being doubled. Certainly $80 was not going to cover this.

When I heard the scales being played without painfully, discordant notes, I knew we were going to have it again. Surprisingly, the fee remained the same. For $80 we were going to have a tuned piano!

Maybe some of my dreams have been unreachable. Maybe some were just unrealistic. But there are some that I am on my way to reaching. I am going to be able to play the piano again. I am going to be able to teach my children and hopefully, instill a little of my love for music into their hearts.

In the life I chose, my dreams must adapt or I will live in a fog of failure and frustration. For this homeschooling mother, this week brought us a little closer to fulfilling a dream and to bringing music back into our home.