by Hope
The music has stopped. And I’m so sad about that. If you will remember last spring I wrote about how important I felt my kids music lessons were. I still agree with that post wholeheartedly; however, with the reality of moving to a much smaller space and with the eye on the prize of getting out of debt, some things had to give and go. So with our garage sale the full size drum set was sold and the full size keyboard was sold. We held on to the guitar, figuring it would fit under a bed somewhere and the practice drum pad and one set of sticks, again, something small.
In general the kids have been okay with taking a year sabbatical from their music lessons and teachers, but History Buff does continue to comment that it’s really important to him that he learns to play the guitar well. I’ve told him that if he shows me he’s committed to practicing and learning on his own (YouTube, iPad lessons, etc.) I will consider reinstating lessons. And Little Gymnast asks every time we drive by their piano teacher’s home when he gets to go back…with him I say, hopefully in our new house we will have room for a real piano. He will have to wait until that time.
We know this is a short term solution for us. We know it will last at least a year. We hope it won’t be much longer than that. But for now, the music has stopped in our home, and it’s quiet. And it’s one of the few things that we are giving up that I will truly miss this year. But the bright side…that line item will not return to my budget, at least for this year which is a savings of a couple of thousand over the year.
The younger three will continue to sing and perform in our church choir which I’m grateful for as it’s free and I think it continues to bring some music to their lives. History Buff is so good at working with the younger kids after having years of choir in public school growing up and the director loves having him as a volunteer while both Little Gymnast and Princess had solos in the Mother’s Day performance. (Sea Cadet and I just show up for support, believe me, no one wants to hear us sing!)
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 5 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.
oh, music is so important – i hope you’ll be able to bring it back next year
Me, too, Adam. This will probably be the thing I miss most, but know that just a year of savings can make a huge dent in our debt payoff journey.
It makes me sad that the lessons have stopped. That is not a decision I would have made.
I know, Amy. I probably wouldn’t have either if I didn’t look at the drum set and then look at our space. There’s just no way to take them with us. And without instruments to practice on daily the music lessons would have been pretty wasteful.
I am committed to bringing them back in a year and have added that to my must have list for whatever the next step in our journey will be!
I’m sure this was a difficult choice to make, but I think your perspective is great! Getting out of debt is a temporary phase, you have an end in sight and it requires a lot of sacrifices. It’s always interesting to see the comfort lines shift when people are motivated to get out from debts crushing hold. Best wishes you re doing great and the momentum will really pick up soon!
Judi, I wholeheartedly agree! And in looking at my money situation for the next couple of months I am seeing a light…I cannot predict what it will take to sell our home, but if it goes well, well this could be a ginormous step toward debt payoff and the temporary savings from music lesson will just be icing on the cake.
Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.
We agree.
I think you made the smart decisions. Temporary is the key word. Also, in regards to the guitar lessons maybe he can get creative and barter some skills he has; detailing the instructors car, mowing the grass. Teen boys are great for that kind of work and it would free the instructors time so he doesn’t have to do that as well as teach your son that money is not the only way to reach your goals.
There is exciting news on this front…History Buff has gotten a job! I will post more on it later and he hasn’t started yet, but it is a done deal. So stay tuned for after the move to hear more about this development. And I agree wholeheartedly about bartering…
If you’re keeping the guitar, he definitely does not have to stop playing it — I know tons of people that have more or less taught themselves guitar. If it’s important to him, he should just keep at it and he’ll definitely get better over the course of a year. If he starts lessons again eventually, all the better, but no reason for the house to be quiet!
I agree! My husband has taught himself how to play guitar through YouTube videos. He’s actually never had a formal lesson, but he plays really well and it’s definitely a creative outlet for him.
Oh my goodness, there are so many ways to make music a portion of your children’s lives. It doesn’t need to cost money. There are many instruments that schools have that you can borrow. We have six children and all of them played instruments which allowed two of them to actually travel to Sydney, Australia to play in the opening ceremonies of the summer Olympics. All of the children made friends that they still have years later, and there are proven studies that children who have music in their lives do much better in school. Please find a way to bring back music to your home.
Susan in San Diego