Mrs. Meek

Our family received really sad news this week. Mrs. Meek, our children’s beloved piano teacher, died yesterday. I probably shouldn’t have been as surprise as I was, since she had been in the hospital, but my parents had seen her at church, and I thought she was on the mend. It definitely hit me a lot harder than I thought it would.

I told Cameron in person and then talked with Brett and Meg about it over the phone. Everybody felt the same. They were glad that she was in a better place, but sad to hear the news. After talking with those three, I guess it really shouldn’t have surprised me that I took it as hard as I did. We were at Mrs. Meeks' home almost every week for 17 years. She not only taught Brett, Cameron, and Meg piano, but she also was extremely supportive of all of their endeavors. Anytime they were having a bad day or just needed a friendly ear, she was always ready to listen. This was never more appreciated then after Jeannette died. She took on the role of surrogate grandma very well, especially with Meg.

I think that I was also sad because piano had been such an important part of Jeanette’s life. Losing Mrs. Meek reminded me of how sad it was when Jeanette died. Phil, Doug, and Dan had all taken piano lessons, but none of them were very interested in pursuing it for a long time. Jeanette was incredibly happy that her grandchildren loved the piano enough to learned to play it. She loved listening to the new pieces that Mrs. Meek had taught them.  My favorite piano moment happened when Meg signed up for a piano contest in middle school. She may have earned a silver instead of a gold, but when I heard her play Over the Rainbow in memory of Jeannette, I could barely hold back tears. It was absolutely beautiful.

I think that another reason that I was sad, was because it was a reminder that those days were over. As the tears began, I decided that instead of being sad, I would just be happy that we made those memories together and that they would last a lifetime. I would definitely much rather be sad at the thought of losing Mrs. Meek, than never knowing her at all.