Piano and funny kid story

Tuesday nights are my favorite because that means I'm done teaching for the week (mostly, I still have an hour of teaching on Friday afternoon). Not that I don't enjoy it, but just like any other job, it's fun when you're done! And I got a special surprise today - Angela gave me the cutest piano pen/pencil combo. She didn't even know my birthday was this Friday. Little gifts like that mean so much. It seems the older I get, the more the little things are what stick with me. Teaching takes so much out of me. It's like I am fusing part of my brain to my students', passing on all that I know about theory, technique, etc (with the help of a wonderful music dictionary when I don't know the answers ;P). And I always feel like I am learning right along with them, whether it's finding a new way approach to concepts or motivating students to practice. I am sure teachers of all kinds feel the same way.
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I have a funny kid story...about Brilla.

Grandpa gave her a cute chair for the summer. It looks like a mini director's chair that says "Cutter" on it. (Don't know who Cutter is or is supposed to be, but I digress). It has seen better days, with the black almost completely faded. So Mike and I made the decision to throw it out. How did Brilla agree to this? She didn't, we threw it away in the recyle bin when she wasn't looking. I know, bad parents. But anything for extra room. Later that day, I went into the garage trying to find something. Our recycle bin is right inside the garage. I had forgotton about the chair, which was completely in view though inside the bin. Brilla was in the door peering around at different things, saying "Bike", "Box", "Paper", etc. All of a sudden she says, "My chair." I whirl around to see her looking straight at her chair in the trash. I kind of nod and say "yes, chair" with a sort of half awe/half sinking feeling starting at my toes. Then she says with a laugh, "Chair hiding in the traush" (she says her a's like a British person) you know, like "Silly chair, what are you doing in there?" Then she spoke the inevitable,"I waunt my chair in the traush." Interpretation: "I want my chair out of the trash, unfolded so I can sit in it. Though I haven't seen it all day, I suddenly want it. Now." So, defeated, I unwillingly rescued the chair. And it was sat for like 5 minutes until the next more fun thing captured her attention.

Anyway, it was pretty funny. Our daughter unknowingly outsmarted us.

Until this morning, when I once again placed it in the trash and it was later hauled away. It strangely has not been missed :)