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Lessons from a three-year-old

April 21, 2006 at 6:02 AM

Once again, my violin practicing's fallen by the wayside as "real life" intrudes. I've been somewhat behind at work and sick with a bad cold for the last several days. Standing up for any length of time is an effort, and I hadn't touched my instrument in about four days. So I missed orchestra rehearsal yesterday, cancelled my violin lesson tomorrow, and resigned myself to making up ground when I'm better.

I seem to have given my cold to both my daughters, so Kiera, the three-year-old, hasn't practiced for a few days either. Not a big deal, since her teacher's on spring break this week. But this evening, despite having a mild fever, no appetite, and obviously feeling out of sorts, she said, "Mommy, I wanna practice violin!"

"Right NOW?"
"Yes!"

And she did. The last few practice sessions earlier in the week hadn't gone well, so I was prepared for some struggles. Instead, she gave me beautiful posture, excellent concentration, and really seemed to be working hard.

I was stunned, thrilled, proud, then humbled. After her session was over, I took out my own instrument. I could only manage about five minutes of playing before exhaustion took over, but it's five minutes more than I would have done otherwise.

Usually, when I'm lacking motivation to practice, I turn to people like Joshua Bell. But tonight, it was my little girl who inspired me. She reminded me that if you love what you do, you can always give a little bit more...and heck, sometimes you can even give a LOT more.

Wonderful story, Karin.
Wow...can your daughter come stay with my kids for a while??? Very cool story.
Your daughter is so good. :)