Let's Make Beautiful Music

Last week, we took Helena to a free concert at a new venue downtown called The Crescent Ballroom. Granted, the concert was held in the more bar-esque, loungy area as opposed to the main stage – probably not the most appropriate setting for a kid at nine o'clock on a weeknight. But she was on Fall Break the next day and given the nature of the music, I thought it would be right up her alley.

Allow me to backtrack... about a year ago, the two of us were in the car and were listening to a song that went into a pretty extensive violin solo. Helena, never having heard a violin before, asked what was making that pretty sound. And thus, her love for the violin began. When she saw a little girl in her class bring hers in and play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, it was the first time I realized I am a slacker as a parent. Well, maybe not a slacker... but falling behind anyway.

While other kids are already in swimming competitions and playing instruments at recitals, Helena's biggest extracurricular activity is Spongebob Squarepants marathons. And for the past year, as events unfolded and changed in our lives, I've endured Helena's requests to begin violin lessons. Always assuring her one day we'd get around to it. Yet, here we still are.

So, as soon as I brought up seeing a real live violinist, not going wasn't an option. We got prime seats right near the stage, and she impatiently sat through the opening act in the dim, quiet bar. Of course, making noises and squirming around and jumping on Jordon. All the while saying things like "Do you like this music?" "It's too loud." and "When's the violin player coming up?" as we shushed her repeatedly. At one point, she said, "I'm going to play the violin." And began making screeching noises, which I can only assume will resemble much what the actual violin will sound like when she first picks it up.

The violin player, named Tobie Milford, finally approached the stage and from the moment he pulled the instrument from its case, Helena was frozen. I have never seen her sit so still for so long, without being asleep (which eventually happened about five songs in). When she watched him though, I saw something in her. I saw the desire to want to be able to play an instrument like that. I saw the curiosity reflected in her eyes and the genuine interest as she bobbed her head from side to side in a rhythm that complemented each tune. It was a beautiful thing.

As I carried all of her dead weight in my arms out into the night and back to the car, I made myself a promise – that it was time to start keeping some promises.