These Hands

Nyssa's hands playing Beethoven. (Click picture for larger image)

This is the magic of music.... it touches every key of memory and stirs all of the hidden springs of sorrow and of joy. I love it for what it makes me forget and what it makes me remember. ~ Unknown

These are my daughter's hands. She bites her fingernails to the quick and has a habit of clicking them when watching a movie. She writes phone numbers on her hands and her friends draw pictures in red, blue, teal, green, pink, and black ink. Sometimes they are stained from picking blueberries. They have been dirty from playing outside and from cleaning her car. These hands have dribbled basketballs and pulled off lay-ups and free throws. They have also held cheerleader pom poms and freshmen maid roses at homecoming.

These hands are most amazing at the piano. They played their first offertory when she was six and her head couldn't be seen by the audience over the platform railing. At seven these hands played Beethoven's Fur Elise, the entire original piece. At age nine they played Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring all five pages. (Mom can only hold her breath for four pages) The music from these hands won Outstanding Elementary Piano Student, six years straight. Then they took Outstanding High School Piano Student four years straight. These hands continue to make music in college, not to prepare for a professional career but simply for sheer pleasure. The satisfaction that comes with mastery of a piece and the calming sounds of the melodies and rhythms are priceless.

These hands are able to do what her mother's hands cannot; they not only play the music with technical precision, they play so that those who listen can feel the music in their hearts. The music made by these hands can make you laugh for joy or bring tears of sadness.

I love these hands.

Submission for Thursday Challenge topic "hands". (end of post)