A Melody of Love

She asked me to teach her piano lessons.  I teach the other grandkids.  I told her I would when she was ready to listen and follow directions.  A few months later she told me she was ready and we began. 

Since I only see her on weekends, we only got to practice about twice a week.  Progress was slow but steady.  She was cooperative.  She had good hand position and posture.  She listened well.  She memorized quickly.  She seemed to enjoy it.

When her dad moved out, I wondered how to keep her going.  We needed a new routine.  We began picking her up from daycare several times a week and bringing her home to practice.  It's working well, but I know that it may not be sustainable.  She needs a piano at home.

I don’t really have the money to buy her a piano, but I know that someone has a piano they don’t need.  I just need to find them.  I decided to try facebook.

On facebook I said I was looking for a free piano.  In a short time I received a message from a dear cousin.  We were close as children, but didn’t connect much in our adult lives.  Recently we have reconnected. 

“I have my mother’s piano,” she said. “It’s the one I learned to play on.  I don’t use it anymore.” 

My cousin has a lovely grand piano now, but has been storing this old friend for twenty years or more. Her piano friend once belonged to our grandmother, then was sold to my cousin’s mother.  My cousin acquired it after she was married and enjoyed it for many years.

I love the rhythm of this melody. This is a melody of love.  My cousin is giving a treasured friend to a child who shares her heritage.  A child she doesn't know. 

My granddaughter is getting the piano that once belonged to her great great grandmother--a woman she never met in this life.  She will know little of the memories housed in that seasoned instrument, but she can create her own.

Linda Garner

Click here to see moving day pictures and read about the fond farewell.