Saturday Morning Piano Lessons and a Cup of Hot Tea...

I cannot remember a time when I did not want to play the piano.  Back when I was a child, it was customary to begin piano lessons around the third grade.  I hated being forced to wait that long and would pull out my sister's old piano books, look at what I now know to be fingering numbers and play my own tunes.  Surprisingly, this did not bother Mother, as she allowed me to play on that console piano in our living room.  Perhaps my desire to so desperately learn to play is the reason I never became one of those children who had to constantly be prompted to practice.  If anything, I'm amazed that my mother didn't come in and ask me to "give it a rest" now and then.

When I initially began to take piano lesson, they were given at my elementary school.  I would go to the auditorium and find my way behind the stage curtain to a little room where I would sit down for the most glorious thirty minutes of my week.  And then my piano teacher moved.  I was really sad because I liked her a lot, however, it didn't take long for my mother to find another piano teacher for me.

Mr. and Mrs. Campbell were an elderly couple who both taught piano lessons in their home.  He was actually the organist for the First Baptist Church also.  My piano lessons were set for Saturday mornings at nine o'clock and that was my routine until I graduated high school.  Along with those hour long lessons, I was introduced to hot tea drinking. The Campbell's had an elderly housekeeper who had been with them for years named Annie.  She would come in and get breakfast going for them and set out the tea service half way through my lesson.

At first I didn't know what to think about this hot tea thing, I mean I was, after all, just  kid.  I doctored mine up with milk and a little sugar (and a little more sugar when Mr. Campbell turned his back).  However, as the years went by and our little hot tea tradition continued, I found that I quite liked it and even gave up so much sugar and the milk altogether.  I continued to study piano for a total of twelve years with classical music being my favorite type of music.  And hot tea?  I still love it to this day.  I have tea pots and cups and a variety of teas on hand at all time.  Whenever I want to comfort myself I don't reach for chocolate, I just brew myself a hot cup of tea and watch the stress roll off of my shoulders...

A few years ago, Hubby surprised me at Christmas with a grand piano.  I'm not sure how he managed the surprise with such a big gift but was I ever excited!  I found myself coming back to that piano all day long playing it.  And now on those quiet mornings and afternoons when I find myself alone, I wander into the living room and begin to tinkle those keys.  And I find that I still so enjoy those days.  It brings me such relaxation.

For some, giving up Saturday mornings to drinking hot tea and play the piano would probably not be much fun; especially in those teen years. For me, it was a wonderful time of escape to the word of music.  And this would continue to give me a lifetime of pleasure.