Candice called me yesterday about noon and said she didn't feel very good (she's been having kidney stone pain for about a week) and was going to come over and let me take care of her. I was going to get her comfortable on the couch or in my bed, but she said she wanted to just lay on the floor by me in my sewing room while I sewed. (She said she liked the hummmm of the sewing machine) Within about 10 minutes, she was sound asleep.

When she woke up (2 hours later) she said she would like it if I helped her relearn how to play the piano. WHATT??? Is this the same girl that used to cry, scream, slam doors and sometimes hide when I told her to practice the piano? I guess the difference is that now she wants to learn .

I used to give my mom fits about practicing the piano too and would do about anything to get out of it. She was not going to let me quit though and patiently put up with all my whining.

Mom would take me out to Wellsville for my lessons every week with Mrs. Poppilton. She was the wife of one of the guys daddy hauled milk for. She was strict, ( I remember her smacking my hand with a ruler when she got really exasperated with me) but I liked her. I can still remember what her house smelled like.( combination of roses and milk)

Then when I was older, I started taking lessons from a lady who lived up on the bench. She had an enormous house with a beautiful grand piano. I loved to play on that piano... the sound that came out of it was very different from Mrs. Poppilton's old upright....It was louder and deeper and when you opened up the top...it was clear and beautiful! My teacher(can't remember her name right now! dang!) was super perfectionist and expected none less from me. I think that was when I really started to practice. By this point though, I had developed a love for it and actually enjoyed practicing! I would memorize pieces and play them over and over till my mom probably wanted to beg me to stop! I would learn duets with my sisters ... we had a lot of fun playing together. I love to be able to sit and play beautiful church music...It has always calmed me and is a wonderful way for me to feel the spirit. It has been a blessing in my life and I could never thank my mother enough for having the patience and foresight to help me stick it out.

All of the kids had piano lessons...Katie and Camille started with this lady over in west valley named Marilyn. She was an excellent teacher and made their lessons fun. (She would play games, have treats and have group theory classes with her other students. They both did really well and learned a lot from her.

When Candice seemed old enough to start lessons, I lined her up with Manuel. (Super talented pianist friend (relation through marriage of Mendenhalls son). I'm not sure what the problem was....he was a very good teacher...very soft spoken and kind, but Candice was not having it! When it was time to practice, she would fight it with everything she had. There was no bribing, threatening, coaxing or pleading that would get her to do it. It would usually end up in a screaming match and we'd both cry. She just didn't want to do it. So after several months of this torture, I gave up the fight and conceded ...."You win Candice...but someday you will wish you could play the piano...." and this was the day! I dug out all the old piano books...John Thompson...Schaum... Finger Power. I've got a whole stack of them...all well worn and marked up with notes from several different teachers. Some of the books were one's I used when I was learning to play the piano.
We started from square one, or middle C and went over the notes, hand position, timing, rests, and sharps and flats...all the basics. She remembered a lot and really learned fast. Before long she was playing Oscar the octopus and Gooseberry Goose!

It was fun to hear those old tunes again and sing along with the silly words. I guess those stay with you forever. We spent a lovely afternoon learning, laughing, playing and singing. It made my heart happy to be able to see her want this. It's such a big part of my life. It's like when you have something that you love and means a lot to you...you want other people to have it too so they can feel the same joy from it that you do! I hope she will keep it up...we have scheduled every Tuesday and Thursday after her work for lessons.

One of my favorites...'He could jump and he could crow...flap his wings and tap his toe!'