Monday, February 23, 2009

The End of an Era

Dear Mr. C,

I think today was one of the hardest moments of my life. To fully understand why, I'd like to take a few minutes and go back. Back five years. When you took my then eight year old son and sat him down in front of the piano and began to teach him the fundamentals of playing. You taught him, tempos. You taught him to read music. You shared more than just your gift with him, you cared.

There have been many hurdles over the years. Many songs not practiced. Frustration in not being able to readily hit the notes in the proper sequence to make the song. I have sat in the waiting room and painstakingly listened to it all, over the years.

You stood by my son. You always encouraged him and for that we will always be grateful. To say that he was not a challenge to your determination would be an understatement. For several years now, at home, we have been frustrated with the lack of "wanting". Practicing barely and not showing us that he shares the same "love" of music that you do all the while he insists vehlmently that he does.

I made a decision yesterday and it was a long time coming. With the economy the way it is, the lacking of progressing what it has always been and the cost of lessons rising to $22 a week, I sat my son down and told him the truth. We simply cannot afford the expense any longer.

He was sad. He cried. He understood and then he did something that amazed me. He moved on. He didn't dwell on it, he went back to what he was doing. It looked to me like he didn't give it a second thought. But then today, when I asked him to get ready, he came back with a small gift to give you and his music book.

I never thought it would be this hard to let go. It's easy to decide to no longer fund the expense but it's hard to face the music. You handled the news well but I could read the sadness in your eyes. We both agreed that this is temporary and that someday he would come back. While I hope that it does happen, until then, we always remember you with great fondness.

You are a good man and I miss you already.
God Bless,
Mig

2 comments:

Sassy said...

Awww that's sad. Damn the economy!

My friend, her hub, lost his job yesterday. He made excellent money. He was there for nine years. All due to the economy. I really don't know what they expect people to do. Seriously.

We are all working, just to eat and die. What fun is that?

Hope he can get his lessons back soon!

Amy said...

If he loves music, he will never truly leave it. I quit lessons long ago (when I went to college and I couldn't afford them) but I still love to play and will probably pick up lessons again when we get a house!