I had a sweet "Laugh-A-Lot Wink" yesterday. (This is like a God Wink which is a special "coincidental" experience that reminds you He's there, but it was from my BFF in heaven, "Laugh-A-Lot", or LAL for short.) I've been massively decluttering in preparation for construction and came across my violin which I hadn't touched in years and needed repairs to be even playable. It's a nice instrument that was a financial stretch for my parents to buy for me forty years ago and I thought it might be worth some money now, that I could put into a new countertop or something. I also have a severely ill friend who needs life-saving treatment and it felt good to think I could use this money to help her. I had no desire to play again and it seemed wasteful to just keep the violin in a closet, so I made an appointment to have it appraised.
I texted my girls to see if they were OK with me selling it, and they were fine, except that A surprised me by saying she wanted it if I decided not to sell. As I contemplated the idea of A having it, I felt really good, but I was still really thinking of selling it if it was worth a lot.
I made the appraisal appointment and drove down to the guy's shop in La Jolla yesterday. As I drove, mental recordings of classical pieces I had not thought about in years flooded my mind, and felt so grateful for the wonderful musical education and experiences I'd had over the years. And I felt sad about parting ways with this instrument. As I entered the city of La Jolla I got even more emotional as I realized the last time I had been here was to take a hike with LAL to the top of Mount Soledad! What a beautiful memory!
I got to the shop and the owner turned out to be a real character, which is an LAL Adventure story in and of itself! He told me the instrument didn't have a lot of resale value and would cost $655(!) to be repaired! As I tried to digest this information, a woman came into the shop to pick up a new bow. She turned out to be a professional violinist who proceeded to play samples of beautiful pieces as she compared the qualities of three different bows, and asked us which one we liked best! It was gorgeous and fun. By the time she had finished playing, I had decided to spend the money for the repairs and start playing again!!
On the way home I decided to take the scenic route and got lost. My GPS redirect took me right past Mount Soledad! I drove right past the cross AND the icky porta-potty that LAL and I desperately needed but were loathe to use! The view on the way home was stunning and I was filled with excitement about playing again. I recalled LAL's cadre of elderly friends who sang, wrote, and performed poetry in public and realized I'm not too old to cultivate my musical talents.
When I got home, I texted A and she was excited and says she wants to have us play something together (her on piano or guitar) when she comes for Thanksgiving!
This had LAL's fingerprints all over it! I had had a stressful week and she got me out of the house, looking at beautiful views, having an adventure, and feeling so much joy! Last night I stayed up too late listening to some of my old classical pieces on YouTube and can't wait to get my violin back!
(Texted to LAL's husband and sister)
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