Ticklin' the Ivories

Tonight, as a conclusion to one of my New Year's resolutions, I had my first ever piano recital.

I have performed in so many venues in my life, from massive crowded ball parks to intimate family picnics. It's always interesting to me what situations make me nervous and what situations feel like a breeze. Playing the piano in a small college auditorium, hilariously enough, was one of the more nerve-wracking encounters in my performing career!

This is pretty ironic considering that less than a year ago, I sang in front of 35,000 people at Fenway Park. But it's a totally different feeling. By and large, big audiences feel anonymous. You can't actually see whom you are singing to, so it feels almost like you are performing by yourself. But put me in front of a small crowd (that included my boss, by the way) and it's a whole different world. You can see people's faces, hear their voices! They can see your mistakes UP CLOSE! 

Obviously that's a silly thought, because they don't notice your mistakes ever. But it just feels that way, especially when your hands are visibly shaking over the keys! And especially when it's your first stab at really performing an instrument that still feels so new to you! 

Besides the super shaky hands (thanks, Dad, for the genetically inherited occupational tremor!) tonight actually went very well. I was the last act in the recital of all of the vocal and piano students for the semester. My friends Amanda and Meredith came to listen to me play and Jason was there, too! It was so nice to have my friends there to cheer me on. Even though it made me nervous to have them there, it was also really joyful! 

If you are a real piano player and you watch this video, you will laugh because it is so simple. But I am really proud of how far I've come in just 12 weeks of lessons. When I started, I couldn't play a scale or even read a bass clef. I have decided to keep taking piano for a little while even though the school year is over-- it's just too fun, and I'd like to eventually be able to accompany myself when I sing! Maybe next time there won't be so much shaking! 

Enjoy! Peace and Love. 

Blossoms by Night

I have bad luck trying to visit the Cherry Blossoms. It seems like every year, I'm just a little bit off and I always wind up disappointed. One year, I was on vacation during peak weak. Another year, I helped a friend schedule a visit with her whole family, only for them all to bloom and and fall off extremely early before they arrived. Even this year, my grandparents visited last weekend, scheduled to be the "peak," only to find that most of the blooms had not yet arrived. But I was bound and determined that this year, I'd go see them in all their glory! 

Jason and I decided to go Friday after work, but a batch of loud morning thunderstorms that day had taken their toll. The ground was covered with petals like snow, blown off by the wind and the rain, and green leaves dominated most of the trees. As we approached the tidal basin, I also realized our timing was off. At close to 8 pm, it was dusk more than sunset, so already it was hard to see the expanses of pink and white in the distance that make the experience so breath-taking. 

"Ugh," I sighed. "We missed it. And it's dark. This is very underwhelming." 

"Just keep an open mind," Jason replied. "We'll just go for a walk, it will be nice up close." 

So we carried on, and decided to loop the trail and just enjoy an evening stroll since we were there already. But we hadn't gone far when I noticed a bobbling white paper lantern, and a small group gathered around the distinctive shape of a park ranger hat. My grandpa has always taught me to stop and listen to these kinds of things, since volunteers and tour guides will always know more and be able to tell you the inside story, so I tugged on Jason's sleeve to stop and listen, if just for a few minutes. 

Well, before I knew it, the park ranger, Doreen, had passed off her lantern to me so she could hold up photos as she told the incredible history behind the Cherry Blossoms in DC. I was entranced, right along with the rest of the tourists. Doreen was someone with passion and warmth, she loved her job and was such a good storyteller.

Doreen is in the background!

A few minutes quickly became more than an hour as we followed Doreen around the basin path, stopping every so often to learn about the people, history and science that lead to the amazing festival we have today. For example, I didn't know that the trees we see today were actually a second batch sent from Japan-- the first batch arrived to Washington infested with insects and disease and had to be burned. And I'd never heard about the society ladies that chained themselves to the cherry trees in protest over the construction of the Jefferson memorial (Sadly, their noble efforts didn't amount to much-- the memorial stands, as FDR wasn't interested in their environmental "flim-flam.") We also learned about the conflict the park rangers face each year as trees' natural predators, beavers, try to make a home by chewing down these diplomatic gifts! 

I love cheesy things like this tour, and couldn't have been more pleased that we had run into this group. I left the tidal basin skipping and smiling, and Jason teased me with a healthy dose of "I told you so." Running into that tour was a complete surprise for both of us, but proves that you never know what amazing things can come out of a situation if you refuse to write it off as a failure. Just take a walk and see what you find!

You can read the official history here: http://www.nps.gov/cherry/cherry-blossom-history.htm

Peace and Love. 

Wowee... Grandma and Papa visit DC

It's been a long time since I last wrote in this blog, and with Lent over and my return to social media, I decided now was the perfect time to revisit my writing. Especially because this blog's two biggest fans-- my Grandma and my Papa-- were here to visit me in DC this weekend!

I've worked with children of all ages for a very long time, and one of my favorite things about working with kids is how differently they see the world. It's refreshing to look at life through that different lens, to feel their energy and appreciation for the little things like lunchtime or discovering a dandelion puff. But spending the weekend with my grandparents this weekend (as well as with my other Grandma a few weeks ago) has really got me appreciating the view of the world through the eyes of people who have been on this planet for 8 decades.

My grandparents are still very active, and wanted to visit the Air and Space museum, the cherry blossoms, and the World War II memorial, which wasn't there the last time they were in DC. It was a lot of walking and rides on the metro, but they were troopers! We decided to go to Air and Space first.

I have been to Air and Space a half dozen times, and have reached the point in my life where the Smithsonians are old news. But being there with my grandparents made the museum come alive in a whole new way. My grandparents wanted to check out the WWI and WWII exhibits. For them, it was not just a museum, it was a trip into their past. It's incredible to me to think that my grandparents lived through these times. For me, WWII is the fodder of American Girl books and TV miniseries. But for my grandparents, looking at a plane isn't just looking at a plane, it's realizing it's the kind of plane that my grandmother's cousin died in. Seeing the pilot's pamphlets and wartime pinups bring my grandparents back to their childhoods. They remember living on rations, listening to the Pearl Harbor bombing on the radio, the people in their towns who earned the medal of honor. I suppose that one day, I'll feel like that walking through the 9/11 exhibit at the Newseum. I'll be able to say, "I was there...I remember that day."

After a long day of sightseeing, we all went out to dinner to Buca di Beppo, which delighted my grandparents with its decorated walls and Italian music. "Wowee!" my Grandpa said. "Never in my life have I been to a place like this!"

Over dinner, even more amazing stories came to out-- for example, I learned that my Grandpa had a speaking role in a John Wayne movie, and that John Wayne was always bumming my Grandpa's cigarettes. I learned that my Grandma's cousin who died in the war was abandoned by his mother who ran off with a man to Reno, and was raised by my great grandparents. If anyone reading this is related to a certain Effie Brown in Reno, our family still has it out for you!! And of course, my grandparents finally met Jason, and loved him, which made us all very happy.

Overall it was a lovely weekend with my grandparents, and I'm thinking of my Grandpa's advice: "Just look forward, no more looking back!!" He and my grandma living it up in Florida this winter, sightseeing all over Williamburg, VA and Washington, DC, and sharing their memories and enjoying each day was a great reminder to love every day that you're alive. Thanks G and P-- I love you!

Peace and Love,
Tori