The older beginner

Just as a typical mother would say “life revolves around kids” n so does mine. I am a busy mother of a 4 year old mischief maker and my aim in life is to make him happy. His teacher once told me that he LOVES music so I took it very seriously and got him enrolled into Piano classes, as soon as he turned 4. Guess what he actually loved it (guessing the teacher is his 1^st crush <3)!! Within a month we rented a piano at home but soon the serious mom realized it is all getting jumbled up in her head. So she got herself enrolled as well! No second thought spared for the fact that 90% of the students in this school are below age 10... after all it’s a one on one class & so it started..

It’s been 3 successful months of mother and baby going for Piano lesson every single Sunday. Having the experience of doing a similar instrument back in the good ol’ childhood for over 5 years gave me a lot of confidence about being able to manage this easily..but at this age!! Learning had stopped for me in any form since the day I stepped out of the MBA school (other than the bare minimum tests to survive at the workplace) n that was some 8 years back :P My friends kept studying to make themselves more relevant in the job market but I felt content to learn things only by travelling (my latest passion) !! So, learning to control ones fingers.. and that too of both hands together.. was in no way a mean feat. I realized  at 33 the brain is incapable of controlling both hands simultaneously, leave alone decoding those notes at the same time. Suddenly, a fear gripped me that I am failing the tests with all the young ones around me at the recitals!! My teacher-(needless to say she is much younger to me so keeps praising my efforts for no obvious reason), soon clarified that exams are only for the young ones. Phew! what a relief-after all I am the older beginner J

I practice. Well atleast 10 mins every alternate day, n believe me it’s not little. But somehow in the classes I fare worse than my son does in his and have to resort to ask the teacher to end even this half an hour class, 5 mins or so  before time..(talk about the attention span of 4 Year oldsJ)  My better half keeps telling me that my mind loves to be pre-occupied with a lot of things at the same time…but I realize I really want to be doing a LOT of things at all-time n concentrating on one is certainly not my thing!! I often wonder what I could have done in those precious 30 mins when the monkey was away…if only that was free (hint: the class is situated in a huge shopping mall n due to long working hours, making time for retail therapy is my constant wish)

Jokes apart, I really take pride when people around me tell me that I am a very enthusiastic mother. And this one takes me to a complete new level- when he tries to copy me and comes to practice on his own. Learning the language of music together, especially with a little packet of energy who could scoot the whole day long, is my latest big achievement!