Tickling the Ivories After a Long Hiatus

Yesterday my childhood piano was turned. I’m not sure when Mom had it tuned last. But, it’s tuned for the moment and I felt ready to sit down to play today. You see, we’ve had the piano in our possession for about 2 years. I just wasn’t ready to actually sit on the bench or touch the keys…until this morning.

I pulled the bench out and opened it up to find a book I wanted to play from. I had had a song stuck in my head for a few days. I knew what book I was looking for. I found two others that caught my attention…so, I pulled them out as well. I thumbed through the pages. The smell of Mom and her house wafted up from those pages. I saw my Aunt Peg’s handwriting in one of the books. It all made me smile.

I put the bench cushion back in place and sat down. I opened the keys. I touched the keys. They were just as I remembered, cool and beautiful. I pressed the middle C key. It was a very familiar sound. A comforting sound. I opened the book and found the page I wanted to play. I felt a sudden nervousness. It took me back decades to my piano recitals. Just as I did all those years ago, I took a deep breath and began to play. Yes, I was rusty at first. Surprisingly, it all came back to me!

As I played, memories of playing as a kid came back. Memories of my Mom playing came back. But the best memories were of playing duets with my Mom. We always ended up laughing about something that happened while we played. A few months ago those same memories would have sent me into tears. Today, those memories made me smile and brought peace and joy to my heart.

I wasn’t sure I’d ever feel peace or joy again after Mom died. But here I am. I’m not going to say I’m completely healed…my heart will always have a Phyllis shaped hole in it…but I can say that I’m healing…one note at a time!

Peace to you and yours!

lp