When I Grow Up...

Just to warn you, I'm probably going to ramble because my head seems to roll that way...

This morning I had a conversation with Meri before dropping her off for school about next year's 7th grade band. She's been learning the clarinet and we rarely hear her practice at home. From what we've been told and have experienced, 7th graders NEVER bring home their instruments, so this 6th grade thing is a little new...So I asked her if she's any good, how her lessons go and if she enjoys the clarinet, because next years plan was to move her onto the saxophone. Clarinets are a gateway instrument to many others. If you can learn the clarinet, you can learn just about anything!

She told me that she's been thinking about what she wants to do in the future. She wants to go to a music college and learn as many instruments as possible and maybe be a music teacher, band director & vocal teacher, all rolled up into one! wow. and you know what? I can see her doing it!

We come from a musical family, at least on my side. My aunt and uncle and ALL their kids are very musical and 3 of them was/are band teachers/band directors. At all of the Thanksgiving talent shows, the family band plays Christmas carols. Mostly clarinet. In my family, just about everyone played an instrument. I started piano when I was 5 and violin in the 5th grade and took lessons in both, up and through college. I'm not very good... The only thing I remember on the piano is Bobcat Boogie and the only thing on the violin is how to rosin the bow. I suppose if I practiced more...

My sisters and brother played viola, piano, cello, flute, trombone and my mom was the church organist. My dad even played trumpet in the Marine band when he was in the service. So I was pretty impressed with Meri's thoughts about her future!

When I was in high school, I changed my mind VERY frequently about what I wanted to do. When I didn't have a boyfriend for SOOOO long, my sister decided that she and I would become the first Lutheran nuns. In fact, there was a convent only a few miles away from our home where my mom would threaten to leave us when we acted up in the car as young kids. Not sure if they would have taken us as 18 year olds... Ruth Ann was a wee bit too snarky for the nun-hood. And since we were/are staunch Lutherans, they probably wouldn't take us anyway... I'd seen The Sound Of Music so many times tho, I was sure I'd fit in. I loved to sing and I knew ALL the songs from the movie!

I saw a movie with Melissa Sue Gilbert where she was a nun in Africa and got killed at the end. I was very moved and told my mom that I wanted to be a missionary in Africa! She was thrilled and started making phone calls for me. Not sure why she wanted to ship me off so badly... That idea only lasted a week and then it went away. It went away???

One week, when I was reading Silver Wings For Vicki, I wanted to be a stewardess. Did I ever tell you that I could be impressionable?

(That shows my age, they didn't start calling them flight attendants until I was probably 25...)

One week, I wanted to be an architect. Then a teacher, then a seamstress, then a famous clothing designer, then a hair stylist, then an artist, then a nurse, then a doctor, then a gardener, then in advertising!

I never once thought I'd be a computer programmer until well into my Senior year... Ruth Ann and I were constantly competing with each other, because she's a smart Alec and it's fun. She's only a year older than me and when she started college in BioMed engineering, I took a look at her books and thought... I can do computers!!!

We had one of the first Commodore 64s with no hard drive. It was AWESOME!!! until you accidentally kicked the cord at which point it would turn off and you'd lose everything... But I digress.

Back to Meri's future and my past. In looking at all the things I wanted to be at various times, I believe I've achieved my dreams. Being a wife, mother & programmer, every single one of my aspirations were used in at LEAST one point in my life. So except for the millionaire status dream, that I never mentioned, did I? Oh, and I haven't been to Africa, yet... All of my dreams have come true.

I just never got paid for them.

She can do whatever she puts her mind to. I believe in her!