My Newest Student

I started a new student about six weeks ago. She was very excited to start learning with me. She'd done some previous beginner theory studies at home, but it was her first real time playing on a piano. I was nervous at first. I wasn't sure how our lessons were going to go. I didn't know if she could sit still during our lesson. Would she take them seriously or did she just want to play? 

Our first lesson was so much fun. I set myself a timer because it was earlier in the day than I normally taught. As she walked in, I went to greet her at the front door and walked her into my studio. I showed her the bathroom where she could wash her hands and which towel to use and where to put them after she dried her hands. 

The view from my "desk"

She did a great job curving her fingers and playing all the notes very carefully. I wrote her homework in a little notebook for her to have during the week and practice with at home. But the best part was watching her enjoy her piano lesson so much. I don't know if she enjoyed her lesson so much because she was playing piano or if she enjoyed having me as her teacher. Either way, it was a lot of fun for me, too. 

I hope she remembers this first piano lesson of hers. She might not, and chances are, she won't, but I hope to share these thoughts with her one day. This lesson reminded me of why I love teaching and why I love playing the piano myself. When our lesson was over, I handed her her books and told her I'd see her at our next lesson. She bounced off the bench and left my studio.

I tidied up my studio a bit and then walked over to the next room. I saw my daughter grinning at me, smiled back at her, and asked, "Did you have fun at your piano lesson with Mrs. Cathy?"

***

She calls me Mrs. Cathy just like all my other students. I only speak English with her during our lessons. And I remind myself not to have extra standards for her just because she is the child of a piano teacher. I intentionally do not practice with her during the week because these roles need to be clear and separate. So far, they are working out very nicely. I'm sure there will come a day when a lesson will be more stressful than it is productive. And I may need to readjust my perspective in order to keep my priorities straight. But these last two months have been filled with a lot of joy. I hope to keep it that way as long as I can. 

This last week, she was talking to one of my student's moms and sharing about how she was taking piano lessons with me. In her conversation, she told the mom, "My mommy is magic. In her studio she is Mrs. Cathy. And then when she walks out of her studio she's my mommy!"

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My First Car

Happy birthday month to my first car! My car is turning 18 this year. It's kind of surreal I drive a car so old. Ha. I know the trend for some people is to drive a car until they're tired of it or something breaks or the features become too old. And then they sell it, trade it in, and get a newer model or a different type of car. Me? I've never felt that way. I'm a one and done kind of person. If things didn't deteriorate, break down, or wear, I'd keep things forever. Unfortunately (and fortunately for some things,) that is not the case and we replace clothing, shoes, cars, appliances, etc. Bluey would say replace husbands, but I think Gerald and Hecuba might disagree. 

This was the first car I ever learned to drive on. In driving school, they actually had the exact same make and model of car as well so I never got used to driving any other car. I know everything this car has been through. There's a paint scratch on the back rear from when I hit the gas while still in reverse. That was probably the worst thing I've done to the car. 

In high school, I was driving a pretty new car. It wasn't a brightly colored VW bug or a sports car, but it wasn't my parent's old minivan either. 

By the front passenger door, there's a dent from my 17th birthday. The car was about 15 months old. I was running late for school that day and didn't park well. The right side of my car was on the line of the parking spot. I didn't have time to readjust. Or I chose not to readjust. Whatever the case, it was a teenage decision made from running behind and laziness. When I left school, I didn't notice anything major. The car beside me had left before I did though. A few weeks later, I noticed the dent. My mind was able to piece together where the damage came from, and I've never fixed it. It's purely cosmetic and the car has driven fine. I never told my dad about this and he's never asked. 

We brought our first baby home from the hospital in this car. It went from being the pristinely clean car for a college kid to a car filled with food crumbs, dropped cheerios, toys in crevices, and tissues and wipes shoved into door handles. But I wouldn't have it any other way. This car has served me well through many stages of life and continues to do so today. 

I rarely do this anymore, but it was very satisfying to fit toilet paper, 

diapers, and wipes in addition to grocery items in the trunk of my little car. 

There's other dings and nicks in the car over the years. I lost one hubcap about three years ago and we removed all of them. My car definitely looks like an old car when I drive it. I don't notice the outside of the car when I'm inside so it doesn't phase me. The inside to me still looks pretty good. It's lacking some of the nicer features - no backup camera, no built in GPS or bluetooth connectivity. My clock went out years ago so I never know what time it is when I'm driving. Some of my control lights don't illuminate anymore at night.

It occurred to me this year my mother never knew this car. My dad purchased it the year after she died. It replaced the Chevy Celebrity she used to drive. The car started having some more problems and with my brother being a brand new driver, my dad wanted him driving something more reliable. That's how I ended up with such a new car in high school. I think I surprised myself because although I know my mother has missed out on many things in my life, my car has been in my life for a long time.

But that shows how much longer she's been gone....

This is almost the exact color of the one we owned. 

I only feel how old my car is when I have something to compare it to. I notice it the most when we travel and rent cars. Even our Kia rental car had nicer features than my car. I'd never choose to purchase that car for myself, but yes, it felt like a newer car on the inside. 

The hope is for my car to make it long enough so my daughter can learn how to drive on it. That would be monumental if it were to actually happen. We do take pretty good care of it - parked inside, lightly driven, no punching the gas - so we'll see. 

My first car. It'll always have a special place in my life no matter how plain it is.