The violin

"Yeah, my mom made me. I wish I had continued playing" I can't tell you how many people say this about music lessons, including me. My mom started us in violin lessons at 2. It was the one activity we were not allowed to quit. Believe me, I was enrolled in every activity under the sun before the 6th grade and when I stopped it was okay because I tried it. Not with the violin. Quitting the violin was not allowed. Music was the one thing my mom wanted to make sure we experienced. We could stamp our feet, cry huge tears, yell out of frustration...but we practiced. I did find out the hard way that throwing your violin was not acceptable and had very severe consequences.

It wasn't torture. Most of the time I'd say I enjoyed it, especially in a good practice session. Plus, my mom took us to senior citizen homes to play fiddle music and we performed in the local talent shows. One year for Halloween when we were about 5, Mom dressed us as hobos and we played really squeaky beginner tunes instead of saying Trick or Treat. I'll just say it's a good thing my mom wasn't into girly things...we'd have ended up on Toddlers and Tiaras! Although I did want to be in Girl Scouts and pageants and my mom said no way. I'm grateful for that.

The inspiring part is my mom took lessons and learned to play the violin at the same time. There were many times I'd wake up near 11 pm and wander into her study to lie on the couch and listen to her practice. If I hear any of the songs she practiced over and over, they will always take me right back to those nights.

I did continue playing longer than my brother and sister. I was pretty good, but my practicing got spotty by middle school. Those pesky adults were right that practice made a difference. My teacher and I found the lessons frustrating since I wasn't improving. The summer before ninth grade I started an argument with my mom about why I should skip my lesson and hang out with my friends. It was a weekly argument. Right there and then she told me if I didn't go, that was it. I told her I was done and got to flip through Glamour magazines with my friends. Geez...youth is wasted on the young and all that cliche.

Now I get it. Music teaches discipline, encourages creativity, develops the brain like learning other languages so on and so forth. I was so fortunate to be pushed at it. When we first moved to Minneapolis, I started violin lessons again. I loved every minute of it. I haven't picked it up since I was pregnant with Penelope...time, money, all the normal excuses. I've halfheartedly looked into lessons for kids, but thought that I'd wait a few more years.

Then a couple of months ago we got a "Elmo Plays Music" DVD. It features 3 15-minute segments--drums, bells and violin. Penelope calls it her "biolin mobie," and she would watch it 6 times a day if we'd let her. Then last week she was using my knitting needles to pretend "biolin." At that point I decided it might be time to show her what mommy had sitting in the closet:

Well, it looks like she might be interested. And maybe Mommy will start playing again too. Off to google "mommy and me violin lessons in Minneapolis."