The thing about kids and their interests is that sometimes they tend to be fleeting. In the case of the Nelson household, I hope the latest interest isn’t “fluting.”
You see, by the time this column is read, the Nelson household will probably be the proud new owners of a shiny silver flute.
Unbeknownst to me, the oldest has decided her next conquest is going to be on a musical front. On Friday, we will wrap up the softball/t-ball season (thank goodness), and I guess she’s forgotten what it feels like to have nothing to practice.
I’m just thankful it’s flute, not the drums.
She’s always been a bit musical. She’s taken piano for two years, but from what she said – her words, not mine – “You can’t lug a piano around everywhere, Mom. Gosh.”
“I tried out all the other instruments,” she said. “But I’m the only one who stuck with the flute. I wanted a piccolo but they didn’t have one.”
She said she tried both the clarinet and the saxophone.
“Reeds, mom,” she explained was her dislike.
She said she tried the trumpet and the trombone.
“You’ve got to hold your lips funny,” she said about the trumpet. “My face turned all red when I tried the trombone, and I couldn’t breathe.”
Her running out of hot air? I have my doubts.
So, she settled on the flute.
“I was the only one to make it make sound,” she said, pleased with herself. “Not once but twice, too. I think I’m gonna like it.”
I explained to her that Mommy, too, used to play the flute.
“But I was horrible at it,” I said, but I should also point out that unless singing in the shower constitutes musical ability, I’m pretty much horrible at pulling notes out of any musical instrument – myself included.
“Well, I’m not going to be,” she said in response. “I know I have to try real hard. Real hard.”
“I like the positive attitude,” I told her. “You can do anything you set your mind to.”
And I have to give her credit. When she makes up her mind to do something, she sticks with it. She has tried all sorts of extracurricular activities – cheerleading, soccer, basketball, softball, piano and voice – and never once has she quit because she didn’t like it.
I hope this situation hold true to form.
I admire anyone willing to grab hold of a new opportunity to learn, and this instance is no different.
I just hope that my ears and her sisters can stand it.
The good news is if it’s really bad, maybe the dogs that live across the road but who have homesteaded on my porch will be driven out like the rats of Hamelin.