On our last day in Vermont,
A.J. and I took this photo of ourselves in front of the cabin. Sometimes it still amazes me that my kid is nearly an adult. He'll be 16 in another couple of months; he's taller than me (this photo is deceptive, I think I'm standing uphill from him, because A.J. is already six-foot-two and I'm only five-seven!). A.J. knows who he is, what he thinks, what music he likes (he really got into the Doors while we were in Vermont this summer), what he likes about his friends, where his boundaries are (this is a big lesson for me, and believe me, I'm working on it)...he's a great person. I learn from him every day, just as I did when he was little.

No surprises there.
Sometimes I think that parents have it backwards. There is so much for us to learn from our kids if we can slow down our lives enough to actually experience them. I had the luxury of being a stay-at-home mom, working only part-time for A.J.'s entire childhood, and that has always made good sense to me: my first job is as Mom. My other jobs and passions have their place, but the Mom part never shuts down. As a result, I really know my kid. I don't just love him. I like him, too.

The other photo is of A.J. playing bass at our apartment. Usually he and his band practice at Sam's house, where there's actual studio equipment, but they were having fun goofing around here that day. Photographic evidence reveals that they even got my lap dulcimer into the mix!

Speaking of making music, I'm almost sure that I'm going to buy myself a grand piano this weekend. To think that I've never owned a grand, it's quite pathetic really. I've been a pianist since I was very young, and I always perform on these amazing grand pianos and wonder why I can't have one myself. Now I live in a 1200-square-foot apartment, yet I've got a whole area set aside for music. It's what the floor plan calls my solarium, and currently my upright Yamaha piano, electric keyboard, A.J.'s cello, and my lap dulcimer live there. The room is an odd shape and has windows all around and a wood floor. It's well insulated, so I don't worry about the old adage about keeping pianos away from windows. And there are shades, of course. Once I've got a grand in there, albeit a baby grand, I'll have to move the other instruments around or even into other spaces, but oh, it's going to be so good for my soul.

The ceilings are quite high, too, and the sound is gorgeous in there. When you are seated in our dining or living room, you can see the solarium, so I imagine that we'll have some times when A.J. would rather I not play piano...but we'll work it out.

Anyway, the piano shops have Labor Day sales, and I'm ready to make the purchase. I'm not shopping for the piano of my dreams; in fact, I would like NOT to buy the piano of my dreams this weekend, because I am moving in the summer of 2008 and will not be able to move a piano cross-country to California. I plan to sell this piano before my move and get a different instrument once I've settled out there. So, this piano needs to be wonderful but not my ultimate favorite piano on the planet. (There's a Schimmel grand which has totally captured my heart, but I can't see spending that much money...maybe someday.)