Thank You

I am in my final few days in our country and posting my final blog (before I begin my new blog, "Back to the Desert"). I am thinking of the goals I set for this blog. First, I wanted to stay in touch with my friends. Secondly, I just wanted to see if I could write with a deadline regularly. Thirdly, I wanted to share my experiences living this new life and hopefully be an inspiration to you who read this. I think I succeeded in the first goal and did rather well with the second goal (except while my mom was sick and I was a bit of a mess). The third goal only you know whether or not I succeeded.





I think it appropriate, however, to let you know what a difference you have made to me over the years. Some of you I've known since you were preschoolers (or the parents of preschoolers) and some of you I only knew for a few precious months before I moved. I am embarking on a life in which I will make many temporary friends. That can sound lonely but love and friendship can grow FAST and I know that enormous influence can happen in a short time. Here are some of my memories of what a difference you've made in my life.





Many of my students had a lot going on in their lives - school, relationships, family upheaval, health issues, etc. Yet I watched them come to their lesson each week ready to further themselves in music and piano. Some of my students stuck to their practice better than I ever did. I saw some students practice while a well-meaning parent would audibly groan at wrong notes. I saw some students struggling to get principles while being laughed at by a family member for their slowness or inability to understand. I am a sensitive person and either of those would have unraveled me. But these students acknowleged the interruption and, as though to say "I'll show you" went right back to the piano and figured it out. As those strong students showed me, I am learning to tune out the negative voices in my life. By the way, not all the 'negative' voices are really negative. The laugher I mentioned? Sounds terrible, doesn't it? It wasn't meant to be. I know that the laughter was unease and an inability to understand why such a 'simple' principle would be so evasive. So watching you work through it helped me to gain that perspective. Thank you.





I would occasionally have the 'lesson of the week'. This was some exercise that I had discovered (often at my pedagogy classes at St. Thomas) that I was excited about and wanted to share with everyone. Some were more difficult than others. One was playing a short piece of music by sight memory. Meaning, the student leaves the piano, studies the music, and, when ready, puts the music down and plays it at the piano by memory. That is daunting. For those of you who don't play the piano, try reciting a short paragraph you have only just read a few times. Anyway, the spirit with which some of my students did this was beautiful. I am remembering Laura Nelson right now. She was about 8 or so and was wearing a long skirt. Many of my older students reacted in horror when I told them what I wanted them to try. She shrugged, put down the music she had been looking at the almost danced over to the piano bench, sat down and played it. Some students got it right the first time, some missed, went back, restudied, played a little 'air piano' then got it right at the piano. For me, seeing the casual spirit of adventure in Laura and the determination in so many others is a motivating memory in my life while I am facing new situations. I shrug and dance right in. If I fail, I try it again. Thank you.





Many of my students wanted to take on songs that were levels beyond where they were capable of playing. Many of those students succeeded. One of those students would play so many wrong notes at the sight reading, I was very discouraged and thought "I should not let her play this". But week after week we'd plod through just a few measures of new music, one hand at a time and when I returned the next week she'd have it down pat. I always told her that I wish I could become invisible to watch her practice. Many students learned complicated rhythms, four-note chorded songs, pieces with five flats or sharps or lengthy pieces simply because they wanted to. There was something about THAT piece of music that made them want to learn to play it. It is that tenacity that helped me through the Russian classes I took. We had to learn a lot in a short time. I never gave up. I (seemingly) never tired of it. I know that alot of that was inspired by my memories of my students. Thank you.





Parents, your turn. I think that parenting is the most selfless act of love there is. It is an overtime job often on top of another full time job. I am still amazed at how much my own parents actively love me. I am dumbfounded at how much they care for me with all that they are going through. I don't know how they remember all the good things and seem to forget all the #*&$ing crap (excuse me, please) I put them through when I lived there. I saw such good relationships in my teaching years. I was in a unique situation in that I went into people's homes - very intimate, indeed. I remember being confronted (kindly) by one parent who wanted me to ease up on her daughter who was not practicing much. This student could play fairly well and I, frankly, expected more from her. It turned out that school was particularly demanding that semester so her mother spoke with me privately and told me to just teach the lessons and that the practice would fall back in place when it could. We had that talk privately but I knew that the daughter knew we had talked. In her lesson that day, I said "You probably already know this, but you have a great mom. She really loves you and cares for you." "Yeah." The girl said. "She's really good to me, too." I told her. "A lot of people would have just been mad at me and fired me." I could go on and on here. You are all doing fabulous jobs being moms and dads to your kids. Thank you.



You have been open-minded with my teaching methods. Many times you have walked through during a piano lesson to see us juggling or prone on the floor doing push-ups. Once when a mom came home from work during her daughter's lesson the daughter was reading her diary to me. She summed up the faith I believe you all put in me. When I assured her that we were having a piano lesson and that I would be sure to get in 30 minutes at the piano, she said, "Laura, I don't think you could do wrong in this house." Thank you.