Anything Can Happen
- Intermezzo -
There's something peculiar about the way some of my students get better at piano.
They'll trudge along for years and then WHAM!
Everything suddenly clicks.
If I were to make a physical comparison, imagine waking up the next morning to find out your child is now 2 feet taller.
The funny thing is they don't even notice it themselves.
This is more noticeable the younger my student is, probably since the youngest age is when the changes are the most drastic.
You expect steps and all you get are leaps.
Yet it's only in my sixteenth year of teaching I've begun to notice this. I could wax poetic and tell you that all the life lessons I've learned have brought me to this discovery.
The truth is closer to the fact that I'm 44 years old.
In other words, I got old.
• • •
What brought this all home for me was my recent visit to my aunt's beachside property in Santa Monica.
When I stepped inside, I saw my cousin's daughter silhouetted in the dark. For a split second I was caught off guard, mistaking her for her mother.
I met their sheepdog for the first time (Hammy). He was 7 years old. She said he had 'been around forever.'
My other cousin's son and daughter entered and said hello. The last time I saw them I looked down at them. We were now eye to eye.
I walked upstairs and greeted my aunt and uncle who were visiting from Atlanta. The reason we were all gathered there was to celebrate his birthday.
Shock. Not so much at how my aunt had shrunk but how fragile and immobile my uncle had become. I tried my best to not stare at his cane.
Something happens when you get older. It becomes difficult for all of you to get together.
When you finally do, the differences blindside you.
• • •
'Anything can happen,' my brother said to me.
This was in response to my asking aren't you worried about your health?
What bothered me was the way he said this, as if anything could happen to anyone except for him.
The day after the family get-together, my wife and I were out with our two dogs. My brother lived around the corner so we asked if he wanted to stop by.
I wasn't planning on having a heart-to-heart with him, but I guess I was still reeling from the day before.
My brother is in his thirties now. He no longer looks the way I remember him. It doesn't appear as if he's taking care of himself. He's the youngest of our generation and there's a real possibility he'll be the first one to go.
It scares me.
As we were saying goodbye I told him I loved him, that all I wanted was for him to be happy and healthy.
'Well, I'm moderately happy,' he said.
I laughed. He smiled.
• • •
My uncle turned 80. My father is going to be 78 this year.
When Kasper turned 15, it's like his health nosedived off a cliff. He was 17 when he passed away and it only got more agonizing until it happened.
My father's had some health scares but thankfully he gets around pretty good for his age. Hopefully he won't need a cane anytime soon.
Then again, anything can happen.
