There is a very excited seven-year-old living in our house. On Friday he became the proud owner of a cornet, something he has been waiting for "for at least ten years," he first claimed. Then he amended this slightly to "six years," followed by "basically my entire life." As we drove home from his very first lesson, he repeated "I am delighted, just delighted," over and over again. I couldn't help but smile to myself. And then to wonder exactly what we had gotten ourselves in for over the next few years.
My older children wondered the same thing that afternoon and throughout the evening as we were treated to multiple practice sessions from the would-be trumpet player. The cornet is most definitely not a quiet instrument. When one of the kids asked me, "What have you done???" I had to confess that I was wondering the same thing. Then I suggested that perhaps we should consider a sound-proof room in our next house. Ross was all for it by the time the cornet had been put to rest for the night.
That our younger son would so desperately want to play the trumpet is not all that surprising. For one thing, one of his heroes is a trumpet player. For another, he has watched his siblings take up various instruments over the past two years, and he has been to numerous concerts they have played in. We have been amazed by his absorption in what often prove to be very long evenings (last night Ross and I attended what was billed as a short, informal flute concert. It lasted nearly 90 minutes).
I probably would have put our youngest off a bit longer from starting his musical journey, but he was aided and abetted by our kind and generous friends Ken and Trinette. Both professional musicians themselves, Ken and Trinette have taken a deep interest in the musical lives of the young people at our church. They have organized a band for the kids who are studying musical instruments to play in, going so far as to get specific music arranged according to ability levels, to offer lessons, to conduct, and to play alongside our children. The amount of time and effort they have poured into these young musicians goes far beyond the ordinary, and is something for which we are truly grateful.
So when Trinette began mentioning every week that it was time to start thinking about the trumpet, I could not ignore her. I suspect that she whispered in our son's ear from time to time as well, encouraging him to keep after us. Then when Ken offered his expertise to help us find the right instrument, it absolutely became an offer that we could not refuse.
That is the story of how we came to have a "delighted" son. To tell the truth, we are delighted as well, because for the first time in years, he has a focus beyond begging for more computer gaming time. Long may it last. His only grief is that he will not be here next year to play in the Carols Concerts that are a part of celebrating Christmas in Australia. For now, he has to be content with sitting behind his siblings and friends and pretending to play along with them as they rehearse. Someday soon, although not soon enough for his liking, he will truly join them.
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