Matt is 32. He is my “baby”, the youngest of my three children. He was living in Halifax from 2001 until this winter. Now he is back “home” in Waterloo, where we no longer live but we are just a scant hour away. With a great job, a trendy apartment and a fantastic fiancee. It was a perfect evening.
We were invited for my birthday dinner. He made to-die-for, from scratch, pizza for us. We played a fascinating video game on the playstation called The Last of Us, about a post apocalyptic zombie infested world. That is, he showed us how he plays it. (Last time we tried Guitar Hero) I so like these glimpses into his life. He took us to Dairy Queen. We had hours of truly interesting conversation. John had said before how much he was looking forward to talking to his step-son. Yes.
I felt perfectly lucky! And perfectly happy!
I think of that old saw that no-one says, on their death-bed, that they wish they had spent more time at the office. All these years I have worked into the evening four or five evenings a week, as late as 9 PM. This is inevitable in the life of a music teacher. For the first summer I can remember I am taking the whole summer off from teaching. No evening teaching, no teaching at all, until September! Last night made me perfectly happy. Last year on my birthday, I was on stage leading a concert. A lifetime of evenings, to spend any way I choose. What a gift that will be!
Beyond Grammacello 