Late I am

but I make up for it with actual video of my mother's talent

Let me begin by saying I am not a Star Wars fan. I can’t make myself watch an entire Star Wars film and I don’t get all the references everyone thinks are so funny. But I’ve seen pictures of Yoda and I know he speaks with inverted word order. That’s the extent of my Star Wars knowledge. Whenever someone asks people to share their #unpopularopinion, I always say two things: Star Wars is dumb and Starbucks makes nasty coffee.

Anyway.

If you’ve been following along here, you know my parents are living through a rough patch so my brothers and I have been working to take care of them as best we can. Daddy was in the hospital for a short spell, then in rehab almost two months, and then he came home with care takers at the house during their waking hours.

If you’ve ever tried to get 12-hour-a-day home care, you know it’s a challenge. We sifted through two and a half pages of agencies, reading reviews and asking people their opinions before we settled on the one that sounded best to us. It’s been . . . okay. Some caretakers are better than others, there are occasional call-outs, new people show up, which is hard for Mom and Dad, and Mom still has a lot of responsibilities she doesn’t want at this point.

So we started looking into assisted living. We went to visit one place we had heard of and left depressed. It was dark and dingy and felt claustrophobic and I could not ask my parents to live in a place like that.

Then one day I happened to be at the house when Mom and Dad were napping and had a conversation with the caretaker who was there that day. We got talking about her various places of employment, which led to a discussion on assisted living. I mentioned the one we had looked at, and she said, “I would never put a family member there,” and proceeded to tell me why. Thank you for that eye-opener.

Then without being prompted, she gave me a list of a few places that were nice, even telling me which were her top two. So we immediately called her number one choice and made an appointment to visit, which we did, and the difference between this and the first one we saw is night and day. Take your parents to the county jail vs. check them into the Gaylord. This one is bright and cheerful, well cared for, full of lovely people, and has everything Mom and Dad could need or want. We thought it was perfect.

So yesterday we took them for a visit and to have lunch there, and they liked it a lot. Diane led us around and told us about everything they offer, all that is included, and patiently answered every question they had. What a huge decision for a couple who have been independent their whole lives.

We got to the end and Daddy immediately said he thought it was the right thing to do, then we all looked at Mom for her response.

She very quietly said, “My biggest regret is that I can’t bring my piano.”

Let me tell you about my mother and her piano. She began playing when she was a little girl and she has more talent in her pinky than I could ever dream of having. Her father, a dairy farmer, saved money and bought her an upright Steinway when she was 16 that my oldest daughter now has in her house.

There has not been a day of my life that my mother has not had a grand piano of some kind. I grew up playing an Estey parlor grand, then she bought a Yamaha after they retired, didn’t like it, and now she has a beautiful Kawai. I’ve said before that my favorite part of living with her during the time Daddy was in rehab was listening to her play every evening when we got home.

My mother’s piano is part of her. Playing is how she expresses herself, processes emotion, relieves stress, and worships God. It is her therapy in 88 keys. To be without a piano would be devastating to her.

But we knew there was a piano in the main lobby and we hoped she could make do with that. It never occurred to me to ask about bringing her own piano. But we have not because we ask not.

So Mom brought it up and Diane asked, “Why can’t you bring your piano?”

Mom replied, “Because it’s a six-foot grand.” Obviously it wasn’t going to fit in their apartment.

And without hesitation Diane said, “I’ll have to get my director’s permission, but we will work with you to find a place for your piano,” and I immediately started crying. If you only knew how important this is to my mother.

We know this is the right move for my parents for so many reasons, and they know it too. We also know they will give up some things they love, but the piano was our biggest concern.

We shouldn’t have worried. God cares about us and what’s important to us. He created us with our gifts and talents and passions. He knows every little thing about us. We just have to ask.

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (1 Peter 5:7)