Just Throw a Brick

Today was semi-eventful, I guess. A few things of note happened: I went and got my oil changed, and while I was waiting, I made friends with a little kid. Which is a big deal for me, because I get really nervous around little kids and don't really like to be around them all the time, but this one was cute. Him and his dad and his older brother came in and you could tell the dad had been through the wringer, he just looked dead. Mom must have been on a girl's weekend away or something. But anyway, this little kid runs right over to me and tries to share his drink and his popcorn with me, and just keeps jabbering the way little two-year-olds do. He was covered in stickers, and I mean covered. Oh, and then a train came by.  Kid's dad: "Look guys! A train!" My new friend: [gasps and smashes his face against the window] "TRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN!!!!!" So that was exciting. Usually little kids don't try and make friends with me and this one did. It was p...

Hey all you out there. It's Monday, which  means piano teaching day! Woohoo! I'd be more excited if my kids would stop "quitting for the summer" :/ In my experience, "quit for the summer" = "quit forever"... So hopefully these kids are really just taking a break and not quitting for good. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Piano teaching is interesting because you can advertise all you want, but if nobody wants to take piano you're up crap creek, as my dad likes to say. I've been able to build up my business pretty well over the last few years, but with the economy the way it is people cut out what they don't need, and unfortunately a lot of the time that includes piano lessons. I guess it's their decision, it's just really sad when one of my favorite kids will quit (who am I kidding, they're all my favorite) and they had so much potential that will go unrealized. It's hard for me when one of my kids quits. Almost not...

Sometimes when I'm teaching piano, I feel like I'm not really making a difference here. It's a fact that as soon as kid's start growing up and deciding they don't want to take piano, like most of them eventually will, they'll move on and I'll be nothing more than a "I used to..." story. But this week, one of my kids told me, "Katelyn, I like coming to piano. Piano is fun!" It was then that I realized that even though some of these kids may quit and never think of me again, I still made a difference in their lives right now .  And if I can get these kids to find something they love about music, then I've done what I set out to do. I love my piano kids!