Friendship Leasons

Mom did everything, well. She was an orderly housekeeper, a great cook, she sewed, crafted, painted, gardened, scrap booked, balanced her budget, and kept meticulous records. She also told delightful stories, was the world's best listener, and had the poise and confidence of an accomplished speaker, due at least in part to her youthful years in theater.

The only thing mom wasn't accomplished at was music. She told me once that she tried to be in choir when she was young, but her choir director discouraged her coming back. I remember her singing to us when we were little and thinking she sang beautifully, but looking back now, I really can't remember her singing voice. I know she sang the hymns in church, because I saw her lips move and emotions play across her face in accompaniment with the words, but I guess she sang softly.

Mom took about three weeks of piano lessons when she was little, too, but that was all. I think she played a brass instrument in band for awhile, but that was only for a year or so in junior high school. At any rate, her musical talent was never perfected.

On the other hand, her compassionate nature was. There was an elderly lady who lived down the street from us in Mesa whom mother befriended. She was assigned to be her Visiting Teacher, but she went way beyond just visiting her monthly.

“How long have you been teaching piano lessons?” mother asked Thelma during one of her visits. Thelma had an upright piano in her living room, and had explained to mom that she supplemented her income by giving lessons.

“Oh, years and years,” Thelma answered. “It's been a blessing to me since my husband died.”

That set mom to thinking. Thelma was lonely. Mom needed an excuse to visit her often. What better reason than taking piano lessons herself?

I was shocked when mom told me about her arrangement. How on earth was she going to find time in her busy schedule for weekly lessons and practicing? But mom did. For over a year she went down to Thelma's every week and practiced at home in-between. Just like her singing, mom didn't practice in front of people, and I never heard her play. I don't think she ever progressed past the first two beginning books, either, but she wasn't taking lessons to become a good pianist. She was taking them to become a good friend, and she'd actually already mastered that art. Now all she was doing was staying in shape.