I was always drawn to the piano as a little girl.  I used to watch my aunt Sue play and I would dream of one day being able to do the same.  I began taking piano lessons in the third grade.  I loved playing and practicing.  It even helped me to get out of doing the dishes after dinner.  I’d head to the living room right after dinner and start playing.  My dad would say to my mom, “Oh, just let her practice.  She’s working hard.” 

I began playing piano at church at an early age – with a small push from my dad, who was also my pastor.  Basically, he called me up to the piano one night in the middle of a song service!  And somehow I lived through it and have not needed therapy (for that at least.)  That’s because my dad was my biggest fan! 

I went to a small church in the country and began to sing, too.  I sang alto because my favorite teenager I liked to sit by sang alto.  Later, at my mother-in-law’s insistence, I took some real voice lessons and found out I was supposed to be a soprano.  Singing alone, however, was a very different story than singing in a choir or a group.  It actually scared me to death!  It wasn’t until I was a young adult that I was given another push by a couple of friends!   So, I jumped out there like I did for my dad years before.  I sang for a while, then had several years off.   

Now with an empty nest I’ve come to enjoy singing and playing again.  Come to find out, I can even sing and play at the same time!  This came with a push from another new friend, Erica.

It started with a walk on the beach with this new friend, Erica, that I didn’t know very well at the time.  One of us would start singing an old song and the other one would harmonize or finish the song.  The other friend walking with us on the beach had never heard these songs and thought something really strange was happening.  I guess it is a little strange to start a small town band when you’re fifty!  But the ironic part is that my dad, yes my dad the preacher, was once in a small town rock and roll band!