Thoroughly Thinking Thoughtful Thoughts. Thoughtfully.

Did you hear? Because I was a little slow to pick up on it...

Letters from A Broad is the cheeky blog of my favorite ex-pat who tears up the French countryside and gets to mess with her kids in TWO languages.

And she went and named me a "Thinking Blogger".




Yes, it's the "5 Blogs That Make Me Think" meme.

You'll notice that .. this post? This one you are reading? It is not called "5 Blogs That Make Me Think". That is because this is not the post in which I will be fulfilling my obligation to pass the award along to 5 blogs that make me think. That will have to be the next post, because I am going to have to actually put some thought into this one. And figure out which 5 blogs have not been tagged with it already.

I have been so busy with the kids, the HOA, various home improvement projects, signing up for violin lessons and pondering my navel... that well, I just have not found the time to compose a coherent entry in order to live up to the whole "thought-provoking" hype.

Oh, you caught that, huh? Yeah. Violin lessons.

It's kind of a long story. Still interested? Here you are...

I have wanted to learn to play the vioin since I was a little girl. I am, however, one of ten children. This meant that since my 4 older sisters played the Clarinet, we had 2 Clarinets available in our home and so.. well, I played the Clarinet. I'm grateful that I had that opportunity, don't get me wrong. I was even pretty good at it. But by the time I hit high school, band was most decidedly un-cool, and what with my cluelessness of clothing and make-up I needed no further handicap to my coolness factor. From then on, I stuck with tinkering on the piano at home. At school, I started taking pictures and got a permanent hall pass for journalism. It also got me free admission to all the school sporting events, and the chance to discretely crush on most of the school athletes up close. (especially the soccer players. I really had a thing for the soccer players.) But! Back to the topic at hand....

The desire to learn the violin came back a few years ago. I even asked for a violin for Christmas 3 years running. The problem, it seems, is that nowadays most violins are mass-manufactured in China - so while they are exceptionally inexpensive, once you get your hands on one you must allow it to be totally taken apart and put back together (kinda like The Million Dollar Man) in order to make it decently playable. By the time that is done, the cost is no longer quite so reasonable, and so.. well, no violin for me.

But then? Then I read THIS article in the Washington Post, and something snapped. I was gobsmacked. Really? REALLY?? Joshua Bell -- the man who played the score for The Red Violin, my favorite movie of all time and the music that brings me to tears every time I hear it, was ignored by Metro riders?

As someone who stops to listen to street musicians at every opportunity, at least I am content that I would not have walked on by had I been at L'Enfant Plaza that morning. In fact, I'm fairly confident that Metro Security would eventually have been forced to escort me from the premises with my screaming children.

SO! T and I discussed this article. Then we discussed, once again, the possibility that I could take violin lessons. Then, my much-wiser-than-his-other-half husband suggested I could rent an instrument from the music shop down the road. I called them to confirm this outrageous idea, and found that - yes - I could indeed rent a violin there. I could also take lessons from an instructor there at the shop. Oh, and the instructor? It just so happened that she was Concertmistress of the National Symphony Orchestra for 25 years. And, as of Saturday morning, she will be listening to yours truly as I coax the sounds of a dying animal out of the instrument to which she has devoted her life. Awesome!

Is it bizarre that I'm doing this? Probably. But I can't think of anything in the years since I became a mom that I have anticipated this much.

So there you have it. Read that WP article, watch the videos, stop and smell the frakking roses, and then get out there and try something new. Carpe Diem! Seize an opportunity to enjoy the beauty around you, lest you are left with the sinking realization that you let it all just pass by.

Oh, and this is the part where I confess that the house is a bit of a mess and the vegetable on tonight's menu happens to be ketchup. But I'm not aiming to reach perfection in result, just looking for perfect appreciation of the journey. So there's what I thoughtfully thunk for today.