Slooowww Doowwnnnn

I took a track class when I was in college - just to stay in shape - and at the beginning of every class we had to run two miles. My theory on running those two miles was, if I ran as fast as I could, I would get to stop running sooner. So that's what I would do, run two miles as fast as I could. For our final we had to run for 23 minutes. (Why not 20 minutes, why not 25? I don't know.) We had to run the whole 23 minutes without stopping to rest or walk, and if we did that, we passed the class. Easy enough unless you have spent the whole semester running the first two miles of class as fast as you could so you could stop sooner. That didn't immediately translate over to the 23 minute run for me. When the coach said go, I took off like a shot and left my track classmates in the dust, focusing on speed and getting to stop soon. It wasn't until I ran once around the track, past the coach, and heard her yelling, "Carri, your run is going to last for 23 minutes no matter how fast you run!" that I realized I'd better slow down and pace myself.


This is where I've spent every spare minute this past week. That piano, by the way, was my grandmother's. It's a Remington. Yes, like the gun. It was built in 1912, and when Grandma gave it to me, I gave piano lessons for two years to earn the money to have it refinished. That oval stained glass insert that you can't really see? I designed it and Dave and I made it. I love my piano, but I really have been spending too much time with it and not making any progress it seemed on the song I am playing tomorrow in church. Until today, when I thought to pull out the metronome and see if I was playing the song at the right tempo.
The seminary kids love to have me to play the piano in seminary because I play fast! Because playing in front of people is much like running to me. I play as fast as I can so I can stop sooner. That, I found out, was my problem with the song I have been trying desperately to learn. WAAYYY TOO FAST! When I slowed down to the speed the metronome was beating out, and I even set the metronome a little fast, I could play the song. YEAH!! I just might get through this. O.K., there is hope again in the world