Thankful for a bit of free time at one of my favorite places after my midterm exam. It seems like I just started, but this week marks halfway through the summer term. Grad school is both demanding and rewarding. Being in a classroom of mostly twenty-somethings is different than I expected, and my cohort includes a lot of great people. There are so many new things I'm learning, and there are also a few areas where I could teach my instructors a thing or two (#developmentaltrauma is a big one). Juggling school, work, home, and some family issues can be exhausting, so when I had an unexpected open afternoon, I headed to the labyrinth and then to the water to breathe and decompress and let the thoughts settle.
When I was young, I often played piano when I visited my grandparents' house. Grandpa and Grandma Greene came to most of my recitals and school music performances. Then I grew up and moved away and they no longer had a piano at home. In the last 20 years, they have only heard me play a handful of times.
When Grandpa moved to a senior apartment, I noted the piano in the lobby and thought I should play it sometime for him. I dug out some old music books and started practicing. I've never stopped playing, but my skills still need a lot of improvement to get back to where they were.
He told me I should arrange for it to be on the official activity calendar, so I did. He made sure to tell his friends that his granddaughter was the musician. I arrived early to eat lunch with him.
When I was done, several people thanked me for playing and asked me to come again, and I appreciated the compliments. The best part, though, was the smile on Grandpa's face.
I'm already looking forward to next time.
A few days ago, Mike and I spent the afternoon on a park bench talking about our lives - the hopes and dreams of what seems a lifetime ago, our present reality, our future goals and plans. So much has happened in the 20 years since this picture was taken. Of course, we both had hair then ;) Not many of our early dreams came true. Neither of us could have imagined the way things would end up. Lots of things happened to us and around us that led us to where we are. And along the way we made dozens of big choices and hundreds of seemingly insignificant (at the time) choices that also led us to where we are. It is sometimes hard to look back without regrets, but I know that if we had chosen something different at the time, we would have missed out on our greatest gifts. It would have been nice to have a smoother path, but the hard times have provided so much richness and meaning. There are a few times along the way that I feel like we made the wrong choice, but those times have also been some of the best growth opportunities. I realize now that after numerous disappointments, I had forgotten how to dream boldly for the future without reservation. We are working on learning how to dream together again.
#reallife #marriedlife #dontstopdreaming
#ordinary
