A too-late thank you to my piano teacher, Kimberly Schmidt. Through starts and stops, he taught me to find flow, reject the label, and just keep going.
This is a beautiful essay, Daphne. Much to relate to. I too once played the piano (I was a music major after art school), and our piano sits in our living room collecting dust after my youngest dropped lessons during the pandemic...
Thank you Jenna. I love each and every piece you write. My older boys play percussion. My daughter played flute. Our piano is mostly a dust collector too. I thought I’d start playing again when I became a parent and went part-time. Twenty-some years later, that hasn’t happened.
I’ve been thinking about the student Kim taught right before my lesson—an older woman, probably 60-something. My mom thought it was so lovely to see someone her age taking piano lessons, so she struck up a conversation with her. She seemed so happy. Maybe I’ll start playing again one day if it makes me happy. But I also think it’s okay to let stuff go and just keep the feeling, the experience and use it in new ways.
Beautiful! It is amazing how a certain person -in your case Kim- can have such an impact on us and who we become. So sad, you couldn‘t reconnect with him one more time.
Thanks Suzanne for reading. I loved reading your last post! I’m sure Kim would’ve never known how impactful he was. I think that’s often the case. Most people don’t realize their influence. And sometimes, it can take years to realize how they influenced you.
I wish I would’ve been able to tell Kim in person, but sharing this here helps. And I’m trying to remember to reach out more and thank positive, impactful people still here.
This is a beautiful essay, Daphne. Much to relate to. I too once played the piano (I was a music major after art school), and our piano sits in our living room collecting dust after my youngest dropped lessons during the pandemic...
Thank you Jenna. I love each and every piece you write. My older boys play percussion. My daughter played flute. Our piano is mostly a dust collector too. I thought I’d start playing again when I became a parent and went part-time. Twenty-some years later, that hasn’t happened.
I’ve been thinking about the student Kim taught right before my lesson—an older woman, probably 60-something. My mom thought it was so lovely to see someone her age taking piano lessons, so she struck up a conversation with her. She seemed so happy. Maybe I’ll start playing again one day if it makes me happy. But I also think it’s okay to let stuff go and just keep the feeling, the experience and use it in new ways.
Beautiful! It is amazing how a certain person -in your case Kim- can have such an impact on us and who we become. So sad, you couldn‘t reconnect with him one more time.
Thanks Suzanne for reading. I loved reading your last post! I’m sure Kim would’ve never known how impactful he was. I think that’s often the case. Most people don’t realize their influence. And sometimes, it can take years to realize how they influenced you.
I wish I would’ve been able to tell Kim in person, but sharing this here helps. And I’m trying to remember to reach out more and thank positive, impactful people still here.
That is a wonderful idea. I am sure that would have an impact on these people too!