Bittersweet music to my ears...

Brittany (left), age 10; Kelsi (right), age 12.

    Thursday evening was both exciting...and sad.

    My oldest daughter, Kelsi, found out on Thursday that she has been promoted to the Advanced string youth orchestra beginning in Autumn 2010.  She is so thrilled!  She has worked so hard for this.  Playing the violin is a HUGE passion of hers, and she approaches it with gusto!  :)

    Sadly, my youngest daughter, Brittany, has made the decision to forego her violin lessons as of this week.  While she enjoys playing violin in the youth orchestra, she has dreaded each morning, knowing that she must get up, eat breakfast, take care of her personal care, and PRACTICE  VIOLIN. 

    Only about twice a month would she begin to cry and moan and groan about having to play the violin. 

    The other 28 days each month, she would dutifully set up her music stand and her violin and begin to practice as part of her morning chores. 

    We finally decided that since she doesn't love playing the violin, we aren't going to be paying for violin lessons for her anymore.  She's played the violin for three years, so this is sad for me.

    I know that almost every adult who has taken music lessons has wished that they had not quit lessons as a child or young adult.  Brittany will probably regret quitting, too, at some point in the future.  But, she is willing to practice a couple of times each week to learn the youth orchestra music, so I'll need to learn to be content with that.

    She will also be starting piano lessons soon.  I taught her the basics, and now she's ready for a "real" piano teacher!

    While some extended family members are very disappointed at our family decision to have her stop playing violin, I know that this is the right thing to do.  It's not even a hobby to her, although she was faithful and diligent to practice five times a week (barring sickness and being out of town) for the last three years.

    I will just console myself with the knowledge that Kelsi is still loving playing the violin.  Aw, the sweet sounds of a beautiful violinist!

    Update:  Four years later, my sweet Brittany is now 14 years old.  She has been playing piano for almost four years now with her new piano teacher - and she is sounding brilliant!  I took piano lessons for 13 years, and Brittany ranks where I was after about 13 years of piano lessons.  Better yet, she still loves it!  We made the right decision to have her stop violin lessons.  We don't regret it.  She is also using her piano skills to bless others and to share music in church. 

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