Why "Nothing Ever Happens Around Here" Is Never on My Lips

I cannot count the number of times I have thought, "Wow, life is busy!  But as soon as _________* is over, the pace will slow down; and I'll have plenty of time to catch up on the things that have been slipping through the cracks while I've been going hither and yon doing this and that."

* could be anything, like swimming lessons, gymnastics, violin lessons, choir practice, regular school year, etc.

I'm sloooooooowly learning to not believe myself when I say that, because apparently it's never true.  You see, just as soon as _________* is over, along comes some other event or activity; and off we go to that.  And when we do have open space on the calendar, we sometimes seize the chance to do the really important things.

Which is what we did today.

For a while now, we've been wanting to go to my mother's nursing home and have a mini-concert for her and the other residents--nothing formal, just Josiah and David playing their violins while I accompany them on the piano.  A few times we had planned to do this, but for one reason or another (i.e. the nursing home planned an outing for the residents, my kids had colds and we didn't want to pass germs to my mother, etc.) it hadn't worked out.

But it did today.  :)

I'm not sure what the audience enjoyed most: listening to the music my older two sons performed, or watching my younger three kids meander around.  Maybe their favorite was when Moriah came over to the piano when I was playing, climbed up on the piano bench, and started playing some notes, too!  A little dissonance adds a lot to a Bach minuet, right?  ;-)

Or maybe it was the snuggles with Shav and Tobin.  I've noticed that hugs are a pretty big hit in a nursing home.  :)

We didn't play for a very long time; but we did some of the standard Suzuki repetoire, especially the pieces Josiah and David had performed very recently in the group concert held at the beginning of May.  In addition, Josiah performed a movement from a Vivaldi concerto; and David performed Humoresque by Dvorak.

After the music ended, we went out on the patio and sat in rocking chairs and visited.  Well, that's what I did: the kids, meanwhile, ran back and forth on the patio, then enjoyed lemonade and a snack that the staff was more than happy to give them.  

As we left, we came to two conclusions: 1) it was a really good way to spend our morning, and 2) we should do it again very soon!

And if we play the same pieces the next time, no one will care--it is an Alzheimer's unit, after all.  ;-)