When I was a little girl my family would amuse ourselves by singing in the car on road trips. When Daddy ran out of songs to entertain me he would just make them up. My Mother would get pretty anxious when he was singing because he couldn't "do music" without tapping his foot in rhythm. That gets a little dicey in a manual transmission car. We would leap forward in short leaps down the highway or farm road until she couldn't stand it any longer and would get him to pull over and trade places, driving the remainder of the trip while we sang.
Daddy and his brother, my Uncle Pat, would also sing and play guitar and fiddle or mandolin for family gatherings. They gave music back to their churches and taught me to do the same. I started playing piano for my Sunday school group when I was in third grade. In junior high I began playing piano for the church services. During college my professional sorority volunteered at the local state supported school for mentally disabled. On Sunday evenings we would go lead songs--mostly fun songs, and action songs.
This month I have played a wedding, a funeral and a symphony concert. All paid performances, but gifts to my audiences just the same.
Music became a profession for me but there are still opportunities to give. My studio groups perform for many venues including nursing homes and retirements centers, community functions and club programs.
