My piano is a black upright, made by Wurlitzer. It is a well made piano with a bright sound. My folks purchased it in 1966 and I was 6 years old. My folks had moved into the home my father built a few years before, and my mom wanted to have a nice piano that her daughters could learn to play on. Her mother was a concert pianist and she had grown up on beautiful music. She did not have an interest to play but she did love to hear it. My sisters and I all learned to play but we did not have the talent of our grandmother. The piano is my favorite instrument and I can listen to piano music for hours, it just takes me souring into daydreams of flying and being free. I wished I could just sit down and play anything and pour my soul into it, but I just didn't have the talent. I took 5 years of lessons and I learned to play by music and I did enjoy it. I would comfort myself that some day when I was in heaven, the Lord would give me the ability to play from my heart and not need notes to read.
One day when I was a teenager and playing the piano in our living room, my mom came up to me and told me that when I got married that I would get the piano. I had no idea why mom chose to give me the piano and not my 2 older sisters, but she did. Little did I know that it would be 25 years before I would be married! Many events would occur before that happy event of my union with my husband. My dear mother passed away, I moved to California and my father sold our childhood home and divided up the household furniture amongst all 4 of us kids. I was living with my sister at the time. She had the piano up until I moved out into my own apartment. Then the piano traveled around with me for the next 7 years. Most of the places I lived were too small for a piano, so I would leave it at a friend's house or in storage. After I married it traveled with us to several places and finally back up to Oregon with us in 2005. My poor piano was so out of tune and ragged around the edges. I was glad I still had it and I polished it, cleaned up the brass fixtures and had it professionally tuned. I placed it in our living room and played it occasionally.
Our precious gift, our little girl, was born in 2006 and from the early months of her life she loved hearing music. When she started walking we blocked off the piano. A few weeks ago we put down a new carpet in the living room and let her have access to the piano. She went running over to it and began to press the keys gently with a big smile on her face. So, I sat down with her and pulled out some Christmas music. I played Silent Night, Away in A Manger and It Came Upon a Midnight Clear. Each time I finished the song, Mary would smile, clap her hands and say, "Yeah!" She would add in her little toddler playing as I played. When I was finished playing I put the music away and she said in her cute little 2 year old voice, "Thank You, Mommy!" A couple of days ago my oldest sister came to visit. She started singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to her. Mary loves that song. A little bit later, Mary stood in front of the piano and started to sing, Twinkle, Twinkle. She stopped ran over to me and said, "Mommy help!" She pulled me over to the piano and said, "piano" and started to sing, Twinkle, Twinkle. She was singing in tune too! I realized that she wanted me to play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star on the piano. Now she goes over to the piano and hits the keys randomly, but in the right rhythm and sings Twinkle, Twinkle! I tear up a bit as she does it. My little girl loves music and she wants to play even though she just turned 2 a few days ago! Each day we sit on the piano stool together and "play". I am hoping that she will have more talent than I, but whatever her talent or ability is, I am so happy that she loves the piano and has fun tickling its ivory in her little toddler way.
Me sitting at the piano in 1966.
My wedding dress is very special to me as it reminds me of that wonderful day that I married my husband. I loved wearing it and feeling the wonderful emotions of joy knowing all my dreams had come true! There is a very interesting story on how and when it came into my possession. It begins in 1992 when I was living in Southern California and was taking a position of secretary at my church. I was replacing the current secretary because she was getting married. Shortly after I took the job, I attended her wedding. She asked me to help and one of my jobs was to fluff out her wedding dress train as she made her grand entrance to the church sanctuary. As I lifted up the train and watched it float to the ground and saw the light pick up the beautiful sequin and bead work on it, I fell in love with it. I stood there thinking, if I ever get married I would love to have a dress like that! Well... a few years passed and I received the sad news that this girl's marriage fell apart. To her surprise and sorrow her husband left her. We were in shock. She was living in Washington D.C. at the time. A few years after that in April of 1997, her mom called the church office and told me that her daughter wanted to sell her wedding dress. There was no hope of reconciliation with her husband and she needed some extra money. Her mother wanted me to advertise at the church that it was for sale. My heart took a jump. I asked how much is she selling it for. I knew she had paid over $1500 for it. Her mom said she wanted $600. I wanted that dress! On my lunch hour I went to her folks home and tried the dress on. It fit me perfectly, I fell in love with it and bought it! The only problem was that I was not engaged or even had any prospects of marriage! I took it home in its beautiful gold box and placed in the top of my closet. I took it out every once and awhile and dreamed about wearing it someday! Then I moved several times and even came into some financial hard times and heavily contemplated selling it to make some money. But, I just couldn't. Four years after purchasing it, my husband came into my life. During the year that we dated, I came to find out that the timing of my purchase of the dress was profound. My husband had been living in Las Vegas, Nevada and had a belief in God but was not commited to Him and for many years had a distant relationship with the Lord. In April of 1997 (the month I bought my wedding dress) He made a strong commitment to the Lord and became very active in our church. It was a huge crossroads in his life and it changed him so much! The night he proposed to me and we were standing on our favorite beach at sunset, I told him that I had my wedding dress and I bought it the month he moved to Oceanside! Isn't God good!
For more Show and Tell fun go to Kelli's blog here.
