On the last day of school the teacher brought me a piano. He was getting rid of his unused instruments and asked if I’d have use for one. We have two pianos already, but I was happy to take it. It’s an electric one and used to be in the campus chapel before a student sat on it and bent one of the legs. You just have to prop up the leg on one side. We used to have an electric piano that the kids broke by hitting on the keys too hard.

The boys are doing a good job practicing on their own. As a mom you really get tired of the nagging and I don’t have it in me to be in charge of making sure they practice. Of all of us I’m the one who practices the least. I haven’t quite found my groove with it yet, but I will if I decide that’s what I want to do. I was actually practicing earlier this evening and one of the songs started playing a lot easier than I expected, like I could learn it.

It feels hard to talk about my family right now. You spend all these years trying to create a home for your family and doing what you can to provide them with a stable, nurturing, stimulating, and loving home life. It’s the most incredible work I’ve ever done or will do. These past couple of years have contributed to me missing out on key parts, held up somewhere in another dimension, while in the meantime time has continued to pass.