My big sister has been a cellist since grade school and a cello teacher since college. She is a wonderful musician and teacher and spends incredible amounts of time and energy on her students. I haven't actually watched her teach since we lived together at my parents' house several years ago but I do talk to her a lot about her life and students and I know how devoted to them she is.
So last week she called me and said that she had something she wanted to talk about with me and had for a while now. She said that she really wanted to give us the gift of cello. She wants to teach my two big kids to play and count us among her many regular students. Wow.
My first reaction was of total excitement - I have been wanting to make music a part of our lives but it just wasn't a possibility at this point. Music was a huge part of my childhood and I was feeling kind of sad that my kids weren't getting the chance to learn and grow like I did. Thinking of my musical childhood suddenly brought up another memory....and that would be fighting with my mom about the dreaded P-word. Practicing. How many rounds did we go through over the years? I can't really bear to think about it - either what I did to my mom or what I could potentially face with my children. And suddenly...I wasn't so sure any more. I mean, I already go the do battle with the kids over reading and homework and chores...I am constantly the bad guy. But....my excitement took over and Troy and I accepted with great gratitude. She even has a cello for Bitty to use. We have to rent one for Stomper but it's a small price to pay for all that we are receiving in return.
Thursday evening we had our first cello lesson. It was such a pleasure to tell the kids about Margaret's offer after her invitation. I swear the kids reacted the same way they did when we told them we were taking them to Disneyland. It may have been a mistake to tell them about it more than 4 days in advance because I fielded so many questions about "when do we start when do we start when do we start" that it put "Are we there yet" to shame. But we finally made it.
You know, it was so interesting to watch both kids, how they interacted with Margaret, how they behaved during their lesson. Stomper was absolutely quiet and focused 100% on every single thing she said. Bitty was giddy and tried to be funny and make jokes and kind of bounced all over the place. But despite the differing interactions, they both ate it up and since then actually ask me to practice several times a day. I am assuming this exuberance for rehearsal is temporary, but maybe not. I won't hold my breath but will appreciate every happy practice session we have.
The real surprise has been Bundle. I brought things for her to do during the lesson but she wasn't interested. She wanted in on the cello lessons and would not be deterred. So Margaret found herself giving a third and very simple lesson to a three-year old. I am not sure that we can keep Bundle from participating. Today we had group classes and Bundle wanted in on that too. She quietly listened and participated along with the big kids. Weird. And Wonderful.
I'm so grateful. Thank you, sister, and thank you universe for sending this chance our way.
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