This is an article by a busy adult student of mine who is learning to play the piano right along side four of her children:

Many folks these days are commitment-challenged and that can hinder one when learning piano. On the other hand, for those of us Type A individuals, we have to remember that it’s okay to be mediocre occasionally, too. I was waiting for the “perfect time” to start piano with the kids, a time when we could really focus and give the necessary practice sessions which it would require. That time never came. But we still went forward. Rather than 30 minutes a day for piano practice, we might give 15 minutes, three or four times a week. We are making progress, albeit at a slower pace, and although that’s not the ideal, it’s not bad, either. Personally, for me, it’s Bad, because I have been raised to think of everything in a good-bad, good-bad, good-bad type of way. If I’m not achieving 110% in every area of life, I must be slacking. The mindset is to knock myself out and move rapidly to the top. I’m trying to instill this love of achievement (hopefully to a lesser extent) in my kids, the oldest of which is beginning college this month at age 14, while still in high school. Dual enrollment. Not bad for a child who just learned English as a second language a few years back. And he’s pushing ahead in his budding tennis career, doubling up on his daily drills. That’s a lot going on, not to mention his congregational involvement and other activities and interests. Plus, there’s family time—the kids love to be together as a family and we need time for that. Our proverbial plates are full enough and since piano is not the main course, it can become lost somewhere on the salad plate of life. Believe me, I know: with four children, two parents, two dogs, two homes, and assorted additional issues of life, we feel like we’re juggling plenty of plates: while walking a tightrope between activities. I want all of us to learn piano and I have come to realize that we can still succeed even if we don’t have the100% commitment factor. The big chunks of time necessarily go to commitment to marriage (over 30 years at last count in our case), children (at the tween and teen years, they somehow need even more time), and God. These are things that require time and attention. But it doesn’t mean that the other interests of life can’t succeed, as well. I mean, I need to pluck my eyebrows and dish out 3 meals a day. It gets done even without a burning passion. I rise before the crack of dawn and coach my oldest son’s tennis development, whether I feel like hitting the courts or not. I check the underbellies of the dogs for ticks or fleas or rashes. Occasionally, there’s a floor to mop or vacuum, a bathroom or kitchen to clean, another load of laundry to toss in. I do spot inspections of the children’s rooms, where you definitely can’t make a coin bounce on the freshly-made bed, most of the time, I don’t even know where the bedsheet disappeared. Maybe it ran off with the cow and the spoon:. Sometime sandwiched inbetween, I do my own work. We’re all busy. Life has a way of moving on, whether or not we’re keeping pace. I’d rather have the kids brush their teeth for 30 seconds than not at all, make their beds halfway than not at all, learn a sport or musical instrument in a semi-satisfactory way than not at all. When you’re in a very busy phase of life, mediocre can be meaningful, too. Just put the objections aside and get started.

———– Copyright 2011 — Alexandra Bartologimignano (Alexandra aims to be an above-mediocre person, jetting here and there with her two boys, two girls, and one husband, while chronicling their larger-than-life adventures at www.destinationsdreamsanddogs.com.) ———–