Norwitz Notions

I don’t know who was more excited: the birthday girl or her mom. Miriam is turning 3 on February 26th and I wanted to get her something special. She’s been planning her birthday party for nearly a year now and, whenever we ask her what she wants (either for the party itself or for her birthday in general), all she says is “carrot cake and all my friends to be there.”

But one item I know she wanted is a piano. She refers to grandma’s and grandpa’s (my parents) place as “the house with the piano” and pianos are the first thing she gravitates to if one is available. She played a cheap electronic one as an infant, until it broke. I was going to set up my electric one but I can’t find it…I know exactly where it was in the garage, but I suspect it was stolen.

Every so often, someone will post to Freecycle to give away a piano. I usually write in to ask for it, but it’s one of those things that goes fast…within minutes. So when I saw a Kimball Spinet (a good solid brand in the size I wanted…small) listed right here in town, I wrote but didn’t expect anything. But I got it! We picked it up today. And it’s gorgeous.

I paid two friends to move it for me but, other than that, it was free (I thought I’d need to tune it but it seems okay, say two musicians who came to check it out). I really wanted a real piano, not an electric, but the real ones are out of my financial reach. So this is amazing.

I’ve always thought that Miriam had musical skills (as an infant she’d pick at the little electric piano with one finger of her right hand, while banging with the entire left hand and singing) and she seems pretty determined when she plays now, but of course that’s a mom’s view. But several other people have said it too and asked if there is piano in her blood. Why, yes, there is…that would be my paternal grandmother, Miriam’s great-grandma Miriam (of course).