(this picture was taken a month ago or so.  I had to post it because I am about to gush about how awesome teaching her violin is.  SO AWESOME.)

I just had the best violin lesson with WonderGirl.  I started trying to teach her before the Dude was born, but it was just really hard - on both of us.  It turned out she needed a different size violin, as well as I needed to learn how to teach my own child (I started teaching her piano and that REALLY helped us both) - but we’re hitting an awesome rhythm.  

I realized a while back that I couldn’t expect a full lesson out of her, but I should take advantage of the fact that she has a professional violinist for a mother ALL THE TIME, so we have the luxury of not needing to meet that expectation right now.  Every day or so, we sit down together and do a few exercises and try to have fun together, building up strength emotionally and physically.  It has taken SO much patience on my part - but after a few months of not pushing and just doing, her bow hold looks nice and - she played on the string today.  Really strong, fabulous sound, too!  And at the end of every lesson we hug and snuggle and I tell her how lucky I am to have her for a daughter.  I mean, it’s AWESOME.  SO AWESOME.  I FEEL LIKE THE LUCKIEST MOTHER ALIVE RIGHT NOW.

Oh, and as I type this, she’s practicing piano.  YEAH.  LIFE IS SO GOOD.