Musical Nostalgia

*This is a very nostalgic post, mostly for my own personal reflection.  Feel free to disregard and skip this one.*

Today my sister sent me a text message asking if I had any way of recording me playing the piano and sending it to her so she could use it during her labor...she's a planner and isn't due for a few months, but that's not the point here.  

I was really touched that she would want ME playing the piano while she is having her baby.  I mean technically she could get piano music really easily from a WIDE array of pianists and artists, but she said it would help her have a lot of happy memories to think about.  So hopefully I can figure out a way to make that happen.  I do have an electric piano that claims to have hookups for a computer...I think I will put Marty in charge of figuring out the technical stuff.

After her text it got me thinking about what an AWESOME role music - particularly the piano - has played in my life.  So I got a little nostalgic thinking of all the times the girls in my family would gather around the piano and belt out Sandi Patti, or prepare for one of the millions of musical numbers we were constantly doing.  Or how my friends would come over and we would practice choir music and end up singing and playing for hours.  

I remember grumbling every time my mom would say "oh, we were asked to do a musical number for _________" and wonder WHY does she always say yes? 

But now that we live in Washington and nobody has any idea I play the piano, I miss using it!  It kind of defined who I was for so long, and it feels kind of weird and like it's a secret.  Not because I want it to be, but just because I haven't had an opportunity to use it and I'm not one to jump up in a room and say "I can play the piano!  Pick me!"   

The thing that is so awesome about the piano, is that even though I may not have "accomplished" as much as other people have done, playing the piano has afforded me some AMAZING opportunities that I will never forget.  Things like:

- Accompanying the Madrigals during graduation at Abravanel Hall, I mean really...how many average Jo's or Jane's like myself can say they got to play the piano in the symphony hall??  I am NO concert pianist, so don't take me reminiscing about this the wrong way, it was just such an AWESOME experience.

- Spending  a week in New York to "perform" for other schools...but mostly we got to just sight see.  Although singing on stage at Radio City Music Hall with the choir (during a tour...not a concert), and singing The Star Spangled Banner at Ground Zero (we went just 8 months after 9/11) are what I remember most about that trip.

- Playing keyboard in the "orchestra pit" for the musical Hello Dolly


- Having an elderly gentleman come up to me after a musical number at an assisted living home to thank me and tell me the origin of the hymn I had played.  It is now my very favorite hymn arrangement to play.

It's funny what memories stick with you the most.

There's nothing more rewarding than sharing what you love the most with people around you, but for some reason I haven't used the piano at all for quite a while.  And that makes me sad.

I'm not posting this to "brag" or say "look at what I did", but mostly because I was sitting here and realized that this portion of my life is lacking and I need to get it back!  

The piano is the very best therapist out there.  

And I think it's about time I paid a visit.