Come On, Get Happy!

Tonight I was feeling pretty whooped as I was driving home from my daughter’s piano lessons. As I came down a street in our neighborhood, a block ahead a young man came flying out of a side street on a bicycle. I knew it wasn’t my cycling son because he wasn’t wearing a helmet or a riding kit (uniform…. or unitard!  hahaha!) Just a neighborhood ride, I guess. The closer he got I realized it WAS my cycling son, in street clothes, ripping it up on the bike. I didn’t have time to roll down my window as he approached the car. But as he went by with a big Cheshire cat smile on his tanned face, he was pointing down the street and riding like the wind, Bullseye.

I never know what this kid is up to.  Seventeen and full of life. Wasn’t it a little too dark for the Popsicle man??? Making a U-turn I followed him down another side street that ends at the desert. He jumped off his bike and yelled over his shoulder, “Mom! It’s going to be a great sunset. I’m going to take some pictures!” And off he ran through the cactus and sage brush carrying his bike.

He was right about the sunset. No one can beat God’s paintbrush! I drove home and got the camera in time for this beautiful sky-on-fire picture. I got to thinking about this son of mine and the fact that he chases sunsets and wants to take a photo to remember it by. That’s pretty neat, if I do say so myself. His wife will like this some day. Made me happy.

Nora’s First Piano Recital

Nora began taking piano lessons in September… just as soon as she learned her alphabet A-G.  She is a quick little study as she can already play recognizable songs… that I admit, are a bit hard to sing along with, but STILL!  She was darling and so proud of herself!

That is Suzi, my friend who teaches piano.  She has taught all of our kids to read music and play the piano.  We are blessed!!!  Nora played Jingle Bells… almost perfectly.  Made her mommy and daddy’s buttons almost burst.  When she practices at home, she sings along with all her notes either the finger number or the note name… and it’s all perfectly on key.  When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, Nora responded, “A singer….. or a ninja.”  Perfect!  You go, girlfriend!

It’s Quiet in Here

It’s almost too quiet.  The mother in me keeps thinking, The kids are surely up to no good with all this lack of noise.  But no.  There are no children at home for the moment.  Larisa is on her way home from camp today.  The boys are across the street playing with their cousins.  They’re on an every-other-day schedule with whose house they play at.  Here they have a huge car carpet set up in the loft with about 127 hot wheels all over the place, parked precisely in their parking places.  I’m not sure what they have going on across the street…. but something Lego, I’m sure.

I realized yesterday that I’m not getting much accomplished (in my two days since returning from vacation).  It’s because I don’t have a list.  Diligiently I hunted down my day-timer where I painstakingly make my daily lists….. the last three weeks of pages are blank.  (In my defense, I was gone for two of those weeks!)  No wonder I feel like I haven’t gotten anything done.  Lists are amazingly inspiring.  The thrill of checking off that little box cannot be overrated.  Not only are projects completed, blinds cleaned and closets cleared out, but the little row of boxes is checked off…. and that makes me happy.

Today’s list, that has yet to be made with pen to paper, includes: finish a Bag for Zaza (it’s half done), clean ONE blind (it’s a slow process, but it doesn’t make me cry when I do one a day), empty the suitcase, fertilize the lawn, plant Vinca all over the backyard (has to be done after 7 p.m. due to the temperature for me and the flowers) and de-collate my coupons.  Whew.  But just imagine the internal satisfaction of SIX boxes checked off.  Sweet victory!  That’s more than I’ve done in three weeks.

I also need to make a list for the kids of Things To Do during the summer.  They will not be as thrilled with their list as I am with mine.  Guaranteed.  Theirs includes daily piano practice, 30 minutes of reading, multiplication and division flashcards and chores.  (One measly hour…. MAX!)  Sounds like pure torture, doesn’t it?  I can already hear them moaning, “Mooooom, it’s SUMMER!”  That’s when I show them my list and ask if they want to trade.  They never do.  It works every time.  Do they think I’ll just willingly let their brains rot all summer???  Never!  That’s why I’m the mom.

42 and Counting…

Tuesdays are always busy and FULL at our house.  I teach a high school history class in the morning while the boys have piano lessons.  Then I take Larisa to piano and have 30 minutes to get my TO-DO list completed.  Today’s list included the library and the post office.  First stop was the US Mail house… and when I pulled in the parking lot I noticed a huge handmade sign of cardboard taped to ropes that were marking off a landscaped area near the front door.  Come to find out, there is a large saguaro cactus about 25 feet tall holding a nest in its arms.  There was a Great Horned owl mama and her fluffy babies.  The sign read:  “Ladders on Post Office grounds prohibited.”  Now, you know me, … wondering if they made that up for the owls or if someone really did think that one day small town citizens would bring their ladders to the post office and cause a disturbance?  Anyway, I enjoyed viewing some of God’s creatures on government land.

Next stop the library.  Now, don’t get me going about the library.  I’ve written here before about the height of my frustration with the county library being in the public high school.  Grrrrrrr.  Anyway, it wasn’t that bad today…. it wasn’t early dismissal, there was no fire alarm, etc.  I was in and out rather quickly.  Wait!  I forgot the good news of the day!  Back track with me for a moment, at the writer’s conference in 2006 I met a budding new author named Allison Pittman who had just signed a contract for a three-book deal with Multnomah publishing house.  Impressive, to say the least.  I bought Ten Thousand Charms, her first book, at the convention and almost finished it on the flight home.  It was truly written with my three loves in mind:  1850s, romance and endless unpredictable peril.  I waited impatiently for #2 to come out in 2007… and today, as I browsed the New Books section of the library I came upon #3!!!  I didn’t realize it was out yet.  It’s titled With Endless Sight.  Can’t wait to dive into it and forget the here and now.

Upon returning to gather my children from piano lessons (the BOYS stayed to have a tea party?????) I decided that they too needed to see the owls, so back to the post office I drove.  Then I discovered that the ONE book that was due today was still in the car…. so back to the library I drove.  Just your typical Tuesday.  Will the thrills never end???

Piano Lessons

(note to self:  wipe SIDES of piano keys!)

Did your parents make you take them too???  Mine did.  I rather enjoyed it and wish that I had kept it up.  I switched to the saxophone after two years of piano… then 5 years later I sold the sax to buy a typewriter.  Little did I realize that writing was my passion, not music, and that there were books trapped inside of me waiting to get out.

So, we have forced our children to take lessons too.  Like all good parents… whether the kids want to or not.  We have one that wants to.  One that is indifferent, but would like to learn the electric guitar.  One that wants to play the drums…. now.  It is SOOOOO obvious when listening to their lessons what they really think about mandatory musical instruction.  The one that enjoys making music plays at different levels of loudness, different tempos and tries the songs in different octaves.  He is graceful on the keys.  He can also play EXACTLY with the metronome.  This is the same kids that asked for Wii Music for Christmas.  :o)

When the kids began their lessons in September, my Dad asked if we wanted the metronome that we used as kids.  Of course!  Then I found out that Dad actually made it!  Cool, huh?  It still works too… 34 years later.  Dad always made cool stuff.

What do I remember of piano lessons?  I remember my recital songs, The Tarantella and If I Were a Rich Man.  I can’t play them by memory anymore, but I can still whip up a saucy Sentimental Journey.  It’s one of those songs that you feel like you should be lying on the piano in a slinky dress when you sing it.  But it’s hard to do that and play at the same time.  I also remember driving my sister to her piano lessons.  I was such a big help raising you, Christy!

Long live piano lessons.