Today's Small Thing reminded me of something that happened years ago.
Lauren and Meghan started taking piano lessons when they turned seven, and they both did quite well. One year, when Lauren was about 13, she made it to the regional finals at Baylor University. But for some reason, she had a hard time focusing on practice and as the time came closer to the competition, she was still a bit under prepared.
I coaxed and encouraged, set timers and threatened in an effort to try and help her keep practicing. One day she'd had enough.
"I've already practiced my piece!" she exasperated. "What do you want me to do? Play it OVER and OVER???"
Well, Lauren pulled it together and was pretty well prepared by the time we made the trip to Waco, Texas. But walking into the grand auditorium and across the empty stage to the grand piano that loomed under the stage lights, I could see she was nervous. Who wouldn't be?
Meghan (11 years old at the time) was sitting next to me and we clutched each other tightly as Lauren placed her hands on the keys for the opening chord of the Chopin waltz. The two young pianists who had gone before her had played outstandingly, so the pressure was on.
She began. "Ta-Dum."
Unfortunately, she'd placed her hands on the wrong keys.
Before Lauren could collect herself to move her hands to the correct place and start over, little Meghan leaned in to me and whispered,
"Lauren's TOAST!"
Lauren managed to finish her piece with only a couple of wobbles, but it's hard to recover from such a start. It was one of those life experiences that you learn from and grow as a person, and she's never forgotten it.
It's the TOAST part of that story which brings me today's Small Thing, which is to give your toaster a nice cleaning. Our brave little toaster works hard every day, as we are Toast People and love to eat toast. Toast is the perfect breakfast complement, makes sandwiches seem more substantial, and provides the ideal night-night snack. Crunchy, yet tender and comforting.
I always clean up the crumbs around the toaster, but only occasionally take the time to unplug it, open the little hatch at the bottom and shake it completely out. A nice swab of the exterior will get him looking shiny and smart looking, just the way a toaster ought to be.
POINTS: 30 for this easy one.
