When I was in fourth grade, my family moved into Married Student Housing so my father could go to graduate school. The apartments came with a small shared music practice room that included an old upright piano. One summer, my mom signed me up for lessons at the rec center and I would practice every day, for a while until it got hot and stuffy. We moved and the piano stayed. I always regretted not really learning to play.

About three months ago, I saw an old upright being offered for free on Facebook Market Place and tried to convince my husband to fetch it for me. Instead he bought me a much lighter keyboard in a frame from a buy/sell shop near his work. After playing around with some YouTube tutorials, I downloaded a subscription app to teach myself in a more structured way.

It’s been seven weeks and I can play simple one-page pieces. My playing has also encouraged my daughter, coincidentally going into 4th grade, to learn too. I’ve added her profile to my app. She plays using her Kindle. The “unlocking” songs feature plays well with her motivation styled by video games.

As parents we can get swallowed up by housework and kids. In school, there was choir and sports and band and clubs. We want our children to be well rounded, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of not rounding ourselves. My primary practice time comes after the kids are in bed when I would normally be zoning out to something on Netflix. The house isn’t particularly better or worse than before, but I feel better. Even though I am not naturally gifted or skilled, I am making steady progress and learning something different—A new part of myself.