This Christmas trip has me away from the violin for longer than I have been since I rented it from the shop.  I’m missing it, but I’m also enjoying the company of my family.  It seems I share a passion for this instrument with one of my nieces, about 13 years old now.  I’ve mentioned her playing before, but yesterday I talked with her about it for the first time.  She’s using an instrument one of her cousins abandoned years ago.  Apparently one of the tuning pegs is not working properly so it’s difficult for her to keep it in tune.  She is self-teaching, and has a book that she thinks is pretty good.  She hopes one day for formal lessons.

I was also tickled to learn that my cousin’s wife played when she was young – for ten years!  She stopped in college and would love to return to it one day; she misses it.  I encouraged her to do so, of course, and told her all about my return and showed her pictures of my new violin.

So, even though I’m not able to play it for these few days, the violin is not far from my mind and I can’t seem to stop talking about it.  I’m surely boring people senseless.  But for me, listening to people talk about something for which they have passion makes for great conversation – passion is a very attractive quality in a human.  Being committed to something and pursuing it is a sign of an active mind.

Discovering more about my family’s passions is a thrill – I do  wish I had more time to spend with them, but in some ways I know it’s the scarcity of available time, 750 miles from home, that makes it so special.

Thanks for reading.

Ryan