The two older kids take piano lessons at 7:15am on Wednesdays. When the piano teacher first offered that as a time slot – her only available opening – I thought, it was an alarming idea. But then I thought about it, and actually, it made sense for us. My kids are early risers and they don’t leave for school until 8:00am. Having piano lessons first thing in the morning meant that I could take them, and then we wouldn’t have to figure out a carpool situation after school when I often wasn’t available.
But I’m going to be honest – it is a hard push most Wednesdays to get them there. Getting them up, dressed. Sometimes there is breakfast involved. Sometimes I pick up breakfast afterwards for them as a treat. Making sure they have their books, which should have been put together the night before – there is literally an alarm on my phone at 7:30pm on Tuesday night called “Find your piano books”. And the 4 year old also has to come along for the ride because I can’t leave her at home. So that’s another body to wrangle into the car seat, often still in her pajamas. And for some reason, the children that wake up on their own at 6am six days out of the week need to be dragged out of bed at 6:50am on Wednesday mornings. Needless to say, there are many alarms set for Wednesday mornings at our house.
Getting to 7:15am piano lessons feels especially hard in winter, when it is dark and cold outside as we get in the car. Indeed, the whole thing can feel like some sort of secret stealth mission – bundling into the car while the houses around us are still dark and still, as if we are on the lam or something. Even in the summer when it is light, the quiet expectant air of morning contrasts with my frazzled hurry and I try to make it to lessons on time.
Piano lessons are just a little over a mile away – two left turns and one right. Yet there is always one moment, when we take that second left straight and head straight east, that always surprises me. The turn towards the rising sun is never the same, depending on the time of year. Some days it is still dark with only the faintest hit of dawn. Some days, we drive straight into a blinding sunrise. And I have to squint and concentrate to stay on the road. If I’m good I’ll have remembered to put on my sunglasses beforehand.
And then some days, like last week, as the daylight hours finally begin to lengthen, I take that left and I see the most beautiful golden pink dawn sky, sunrise just starting. The tangled jaggedly trees that line the street silhouetted against the blushing horizon. And it’s gorgeous and it’s just a moment. And I want to capture the sheer beauty of it, but I’m driving and that would be irresponsible and probably dangerous, so I just keep driving and drinking in the pink and I say to the kids, “Look at the beautiful sky!!!” Because I don’t want them to miss it. Because I know that the next week I won’t be guaranteed this sight as I turn that corner, so I might as well enjoy it now.
Anyhow, as I turn the calendar into February, I just want to remind myself to look up as I round those bends because beautiful things might be just around the corner.
Oof, I can see how before school lessons “seem” like a good idea but might be hard to really get excited about week after week! I’ve been moving my workouts to the morning and wow is it nice to have wide, open evenings (sort of- kids still have stuff often…). I’d say if you can swing it, great! But if it’s really a drag, maybe you can explore another time! Though I know firsthand it can be tricky to get piano slots to line up with the rest of your life (or the teacher’s…)
I kind of feel like after school might feel like more of a drag? I do like the evening open as well.
It’s funny – the oldest used to go to basketball practice at 7:15am, but somehow piano lessons feels different, more early? Not sure why. Maybe a solo lesson feels different from a team sport where there are lots of people showing up to participate?
I know someone that does before school lessons and I just can’t imagine! I’m barely able to speak before 7:30 am.
There are a lot of non-verbal moments as we go to piano lessons, to be sure!
Oh gosh, Diane, I loved this. What an evocative picture you paint. I love the early morning sky and winter sunrises are just so gorgeous. And you’re so right – we are not guaranteed this gorgeous sight every day, so a good reminder to look around (look around, how lucky we are to be alive right now) (just imagine me singing loudly and off key)
Oh I love a good Hamilton reference!
Another one I always use is when the kids are upset and blaming other people, I say – “What does Aaron Burr say? He says, ‘I am the only thing I can control…'”
How amazing. i was there with you. I leave for work early- 7AM the latest- and often see the sky. I like to take a picture before getting into the car. Sometimes when T is on the business trip, I have to drop off the kids and omg I have to make sure that we are ass-in-seat by 6:50 the latest. So I feel ya with silent homes with only a few windows glowing… There is beauty and tragedy here somewhere…
oh yes, indeed!
I love mornings, but they can be so hard!
Ugh. Appointments before 8am should be outlawed. Good on you for persevering! I’m pretty sure I would have given up the first time a child put up a fuss.
I am probably unreasonably persistent about piano lessons, I admit.
I love those gorgeous sunrise kind of moments where the sky is pink and oh so gorgeous! I’m also the mom saying – look at the sunrise! Or look at Mr. Moon up in the sky! But 7:15 is a tough time of day to have to be somewhere. In an ideal world, we would leave the house for school/daycare drop offs at 6:50. We used to achieve that every day until our youngest reached his toddler years. He is NOT a morning person so the mornings are so very rough and we generally leave around 7-7:05. Which is fine as there is wiggle room in the start of our days – like we aren’t nurses and doctors who are on a shift schedule. I have to remind myself of this when I get stressed out about how poorly the morning is going and how off schedule we’ve gotten.
I am planning to put our oldest in piano lessons in the fall, though, but I need to find a teacher which feels kind of overwhelming. I don’t know a lot of families close to where we live but I need to start to ask around. I started piano lessons in 2nd grade so I’ll be starting him a year earlier but I think he’s ready for it? We’ll see… We have a beautiful Kawai piano that I bought in 2012 that I absolutely love so I am excited to have it played more often.
Oh 7:00 is soo early to be out of the house! At least with piano lessons we come home and I have 30 mins to finish packing lunches and backpacks and what not. I get very stressed out when I’m running late too, and I’ve lately learned to remind myself to breathe and say, “Well, I guess I’ll just be late.” Not in a cavalier way, but to remind me that the world will not end because I’m a few minutes late. It’s helped me be more chill with the kids in the morning and not feel like I have to be rushed.
I started our oldest on piano when she was in second grade, but the middle kid started the summer before 1st grade because he wanted to. I had a friend who was a piano teacher, but she wasn’t taking any new students and recommended someone else. I will say, if my kids were any more talented, I would probably find a different teacher, but the teacher they have now is very chill and relaxed and has oodles of patience for my kids, which is nice.