Reawakening Creatvity

*I wrote this post back in January and realized it never made it out of my drafts folder*

Since I've become a mom I've felt the need to find a hobby. It's not like I have hours a day that I need to fill, but occasionally nap time rolls around and I just don't have the energy to do house stuff, or by some miracle everything is done. I also think it's just good for my soul. A lot of my friends have creative outlets that vary from writing to cooking. I wracked my brain for a long time trying to think of something that would get me excited.

I can't remember the initial revelation but I remember when it solidified over the holidays. I was sitting at the piano at my parents' house with Caleb on my lap. I am a musician. I have played the piano for years. At one point I would have even classified myself as pretty good. I started with one teacher, then switched for many years to a woman who was great at teaching technique. I would even have to practice how to bow in front of her grand piano before a festival (where I took 2 first place awards...a big deal to me at the time). She was strict and I didn't love her in the moment, but she taught me a lot and gave me great skills. Once I reached the point of not being forced to take lessons any more and my brother's got to quit, I was encouraged to continue and switched back to my original teacher. He was very laid back, wrote a lot of his own music, and we did songs I liked. I was in sheet music heaven. I also switched it up and took some guitar lessons with him, usually when I hadn't adequately practiced the piano.

I played a lot, mostly at church and camp. And when I had nothing else to do I'd sit and play for a long time. I haven't played seriously for many many years and haven't had a piano in my home since we moved to Africa. We don't have a decent space to fit it in our current home so our friends are taking good care of it for now. But I realized while playing at Christmas that this could be my hobby. I enjoy it, it's creative and it's some quality me time. So I went to our local music store and found a sleek but quality digital piano. I had personal money saved up from birthdays and Christmases and I never know what to spend it on so this was the perfect idea. A few days later it was home and set up.

It's kind of funny that I only remember how to play two songs; Sarah McLaughlin's "I Will Remember You" and Mariah Carey's "Save the Best for Last". Why those two? I have no idea! It's time to dig out my sheet music, maybe even a conservatory book and get my skills back. The boys are already loving smashing the keys and Micah sways back and forth when I play. Twinkle Twinkle is a popular request around here. I'm thrilled to have found a hobby, or rediscovered one that I've had all along.