hot cross buns

20. Cello and Piano. what do you do with a 3 year old? you put them in cello lessons! Mom put me in cello lessons at a Suzuki String School at Baylor when I was 3 and I did that for 3 years. I remember performing at the elementary school Christmas program even before I was even in elementary school in what i thought was the prettiest little frilly dress. Luckily, Marilyn still has it. I also loved the white, heart-shaped wood stopper that Phil made for me to use with my miniature cello (even at a quarter size, the thing was still bigger than me). And then I took piano lessons from 6-17. 11 years of piano lessons can churn out exceptional pianists, but sadly, I am not one of them :) I play okay--most of the hymns but I definitely don't feel comortable sight-reading or being an accompanist. Music was an integral part of the Johnson household. You can see the two pianos and organ in the below picture. We also housed a large xylophone for a few months. I wish I had more piano pics--I participated in a number of contests as well as ensembles. I remember getting to wear an off-the-shoulder red saloon-girl dress one year and thinking it was the greatest thing ever! I took a state theory test every year and I had the most wonderful piano teacher ever. Dr. Ruth Pitts--a very petite woman who had severely deformed hands: 3 fingers on one hand and 2 on the other. She was a pretty unlikely candidate for a degree in piano pedagogy (real fancy word for education or method) but a gem nonetheless and a beautiful pianist. I always hated the phrase "you'll thank me for this one day" but it could not ring more true. Although, I'm not execeptionally gifted, I love that I can play the piano and love that I played the cello. Thanks Mom for making me stick with it.

(they even put me on the brochure)