The boy is currently very excited.

We’ve been talking about music lessons for about two years now. We agreed that he would choose an instrument by new year’s, and start lessons this spring.

After initially wanting to play the cello when he was much younger, he decided against that and for the past year has been considering violin, or flute, or piano. (He really does want to play the trombone and the drums, but those will have to wait till high school age.) Those were his suggestions, too, not mine. He’s seen people play all of them and enjoys the sounds.

This morning I reminded him that it was the new year, and he had to settle on one. And he said, “Oh, yes, Mama, I want to practice the cello, like you!”

You could have knocked me over with a feather. But HRH told me that he had watched the littlest girls at my recital very intently, had clapped very hard for them, and had said, “Dada, they’re very good, aren’t they?” It must have had more of an impact than I expected. So I said I’d set it up with my cello teacher, and he said, “It’s a good thing I already have a cello.” Now, his “cello” is actually a cigar box viola I picked up secondhand on a whim about eight years ago to mess around with. So I said, “No, lovey, we’ll take you to the cello store (which is what he calls my luthier) and we’ll get you your own really real cello.” I didn’t think his eyes could get that big.

I am not a dreamer; I know this is going to be frustrating for him at times, and frustrating for me, too. But music is very rewarding, and lessons are good for teaching things like self-discipline, focus, and improving concentration, all of which he needs to work on. I’ve also seen my teacher work with her littlest students and he’s going to have a blast. It seems like they play lots of games and get to have a lot more fun than the grown-ups do!

I would have been thrilled with any of his choices. (Well, okay, the piano would have been challenging, but I would have found one for him if he truly and deeply wanted to learn it.) But he’s chosen my instrument, after telling me very definitely that he did not want to play it, and I admit to being heart-warmed by that. It’s something we can do together. We could have played duets with any of his other choices, but now I’ll be able to show him things and have a better understanding of what he’ll be learning technique-wise. And I know my teacher, so we won’t be starting from scratch with someone we’ve just met, and I know that she’ll do a wonderful job with him.

I’ve just sent my luthier an e-mail requesting an appointment for sizing a rental cello, and a note to my teacher about scheduling lessons. The boy is very much looking forward to all this. And to be honest, so am I.