Josh Groban's Music

Ivan spent the Sunday night at my parents' house. We spent the entire day there and then decided to leave Ivan overnight since it was too late to transport him home.

As usual, after my mom and I gave Ivan a bath, he refused to go to bed but had to chill out and linger around and run all over the place.

But then he noticed the TV. MPT was showing a Josh Groban concert.

Ivan made himself comfortable in one of the Ikea Boliden chairs (My parents used to have two, but since Ivan likes to relax in one, they bought a third one, just for him) and watched.

He was mesmerized by the concert. I've never seen him focus on TV for such a long period of time. He was intently listening to the music and observing the close up shots of instruments they showed--piano, guitar and violin. He was fully engrossed in the music.

Then during the commercial break (really one of those "call now and support the TV station breaks"), he went downstairs, sat at the electric piano and started "playing," e.g. banging on the keys.

Now I wonder whether he has a natural inclination for music. Should I sign him up for piano lessons?

Of course, I intend to sign him up for piano classes within the next two years. I've known this before Ivan was even born. Although I suffered through a tone-deaf childhood of years of piano classes, now as an adult, I'm really pleased that I had that experience. Of the numerous extracurricular sporty, dancy and artistic activities I tried as a kid, that was the one my parents (and grandparents) insisted I keep up (although I truly sucked at it. I was actually told during a solfeggio class to lower my voice as I was throwing other kids off. So much for building a 6 year-olds self esteem). I only wish now that my parents insisted I kept up with some other activities I started and dropped. Who knows I might have been more successful at them.

So with that hindsight, I think it will be perfectly acceptable for Ivan (and whoever this other baby is) to suffer through childhood of piano lessons and other sporty and artsy activities they will be enrolled in due time