The Organ

I am a crier. I mean a real crier!

I can make myself cry, sitting here at the computer. All I have to do is think of the birth of one of my children, or my sister and how great she is, or what great friends I have, or Craig, and how much he does for our family, or anything even slightly sentimental.

I will also cry with you. I can really be happy, not in the least sad, but if you cry, I do not want you to do it alone. I cry at TV, at church, at a good moving, watching my kids sleep. It's bad. My kids make fun of me.

I try not to do it!

Sheila came down for a visit and while she was here we sat around and played a bunch of our favorite songs on the ipod. We were all singing and laughing and, yes, I got all teary. Katie looked over at me and said in her most bewildered voice, "Are you crying?" (By the way, it wasn't even a real cry, just a few tears). They all laughed!

Tori has been learning to play the organ. For those of you who are musically illiterate like me, the organ is like the piano but in addition to playing the keys with your hands, (many rows of keys by the way, depending on your organ), there are keys just like the ones on the piano keyboard that you play with your feet.

On the organs that they have at our church, there are two rows of hand keys and the foot pedals. The hand keys must be played but there is a cheat button on the organ. If you turn it on, you do not need to play the feet. Apparently a persons who knows something about music can tell the difference, but I can not. As a matter of fact, I think they try to keep the cheat key a secret because people can't tell the difference anyway.

Tori's piano teacher plays the organ in our ward and she has been teaching Tori so that Tori can play when she is gone. Right now if she leaves we only have piano music, (which seems fine to me but apparently people like the organ). Tori loves it!

Her piano teacher told me, however, that Tori is a purist and will not use the cheat button. She loves to play with her feet. Now Marie, (her piano teacher), and Tori have a friendly competition going to see who can learn the most songs with their feet. They are so funny, they both think that it is so much fun!

Today, Tori played the closing song in sacrament meeting. Marie had to leave early and so she asked Tori to play. At the end of every sacrament meeting they always thank the music people and today they thanked Marie and announced that Tori would be filling in for her because she had to leave early.

I immediately start to cry. (By the way, I never know I am about to cry. You would think I would after all this time but it still catches me by surprise!). I also start to sweat because I can see how nervous she is and I am nervous too--she hates to be the center of attention, except of course at home, where she is the only one who exists in her mind--true of all my children by the way, but I digress). Of course, I assume it is just me because, I always cry, and then I look around. Others are crying too. Craig is teary, His mom and dad are crying, my friend in front of us who works with Tori in young women's--crying! I see her Sunday school teachers, (a couple), crying. Of course, this makes my cry harder!

She was fabulous! I love moments like that!

She did tell me later though, that if it was going to make everyone cry to have her play the organ it might be better if she didn't play at church :).