I picked up #3 from the #1 drop off and then went to meet #2 at her camp. It was a warm day. #2 was flushed from her practice, starving, thirsty and ready to leave.
#3 wanted to play on the playground.
#2 started to protest and then said, "OK Mo, we'll play for a little bit!" To me she said, "She probably hates being in the car!"
Oh, I love that #2 so much. She has such a kind soul.
So they played a little while and suddenly I started hearing bag-pipe music blaring. There were cars going in and out of the parking lot but it still seemed an unlikely choice of music to amp up. It was plain bag-pipe music...and not even a rap version!
I was puzzled.
The two grands I had with me walked over and asked me what that sound was. We looked around...and finally noticed a short and t-shirt dressed man pacing up and down the sidewalk beyond the bushes by the park.
I told the girls we would go watch.
And we did.
He paced and played and we sat on the green Arizona spring-time grass. The sun was warm. Orange blossoms scented the air. I sat as the filling in a Grandma sandwich...my sweaty little soccer player on one side and blonde, little Morgan on the other.
There was no parade and no band. I forgot there was no kilt or green hills of Ireland. The musician played 'Amazing Grace' and 'Danny Boy' and a very sad celtic sounding song whose title escapes me and it was magic.
When the musician finally stopped playing, the air became too quiet. After a moment, though, our little audience of three applauded him.
He seemed embarrassed.
And then #2, the little girl with the heart the size of the Grand Canyon told him...
"I could feel your music in my heart."
He looked down at the bagpipe and then up at the pony-taled strawberry blond girl by my side.
"Thank you," he said quietly, "You made my day."
I waited a moment, trying to think of the right thing to say.
"No," I replied, "Thank you. You made ours."
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42 comments:
OHHHHHHHHHHHHH what a wonderful post...can you pass that tissue please!!!! You touched my heart!!!
We are not on Spring break yet...but baseball season is fast approaching and 2 boys, 2 practices a week and games is beginning to make my head spin!!!!
Love ya girlie...have a Fabulous Wednesday!!!
Dear Jen,
you write from the heart. This was just a beautiful little event.I loved your expressions and discriptions.
You are a great GrandMother.
yvonne
Oh Jenny, what a treat to read your post and what a treat you had too!
Nancy
What a magical unplanned happening to share with your sweet granddaughters... a memory they won't forget.
Your own personal parade sounds like a wonderful way to celebrate St. Pats.
I love the sound of bag pipes playing. Years ago when I worked outside the home, a gentleman played the bag pipes every day around noon just beyond our office. I never could see him, but his music a welcome treat every day. If my memory serves me correctly, he played Amazing Grace. Thanks for rousing a forgotten reflection in my past.
~Cathy Kennedy, Children's Author
The Tale of Ole Green Eyes
(Sorry, had to delete that due to a spelling error! Let me try this again!)
What a sweet story! It sounds like a wonderful afternoon.
Our town has a huge parade as part of it's annual late summer festival and there are always a few dozen bag pipers. Since we live near the parade route, they will sometimes practice on the corner near our house before the parade begins. It's pretty cool. One year, they asked if they could change into their kilts in our garage (no, I didn't peek!). You would think there would be a point to my telling you this, but there isn't, really. It's just my personal bag piper story.
SWEET day:) Love what little children say that comes straight from their hearts! Precious! I know he will NEVER forget what she said!
It reminds me of when I worked and one of my friends would practice playing the bagpipes in the parking lot! Love the sound!
Have a blessed (but surely busy) day!! HUGS!
I bet those girls will remember the day they went with Grandma to their own private St. Patricks Day parade.
Thank you for sharing Jenny. I just love the sound of bagpipes! A few summers ago when Vandy and I were golfing a lot, there was a guy that played around 6pm every evening on the base. It made my heart warm. Lucky you to share such a moment with #2 and #3!
You make our day every time you post, Jenny!
What a sweet story, and what a wonderful memory! There used to be a gentleman who lived in our neighborhood who played the pipes. I loved to hear him practice. Thanks for sharing this Jenny, it made my morning. Kat
I love the sound of them too...very soulful in their own way. Keep making special memories with the little ones...and sharing them with us, we're blessed to be a part of it also.
Wow what a rare and lovely jewel you stumbled across and so grand that they enjoyed listening too....yeterday I had my moment of Amazing Grace and more as we laid to rest a dear friend....so this of course brought back a flood of tears...I've kind of lost my sparkle for a bit....this special lady was so much like a mother to me, that her leaving is flooded by the loss of her and the reminder of my mom passing....that music is so lovely but at times like Amazing Grace, and when the orchestra played in the movie on The Titantic for their last good-bye it just tears me up with saddness....
The sound of bagpipes warms my heart too! What a great story! Thanks for sharing it with us!
What a precious girl and a wonderful experience!
How amazing for such a young girl to have a heart so mature! I wonder what he was practicing for.... We had a friend play at my nieces wedding, that was a joy. We also had one play at my fathers funeral not so joyous. Either was that little girl is right it always fills the heart!
Unfortunately, outside of the Celtic Woman concert I went to, the only time I get to hear bagpipes is at funerals. That truly must have been a treat! And lucky for you a bagpiper has to practice somewhere, and the park is a nice place to practice.
I thought I was the only person who assigned numbers to my grands. I have so many of them and get confused when calling them by name I often refer to them as #1,2,3,4,5,6 and soon I'll have a #7. I feel like the old woman who lived in a shoe.
Sounds like you have a bunch of sweet grands! We have a Mo too, only our Mo is a boy.~Ames
You're such a perfect grandma! Those girls will always remember the love you have for them!
What a lovely story and though I don't know her personally, #2 is truely an amazing, beautiful child.
What a marvelous experience for all of you.
That little #2 is something special. Out of the mouths of babes.
What a perfect moment, and you may have missed it if it wasn't for #2 right?
That was the sweetest thing she could have said!
Oh, those girls are just amazing...I could feel this ALL in my heart too.
xoxox
Awwww, "I could feel you music in my heart" just melted mine. That is too stinkin' cute!!!
What a treat to find in the park!
God bless ya my friend and have a wonderful day!!!
Now I'm all teary again. (Maybe I should be taking hormone replacement therapy!)
Or maybe that was just one of your most beautiful posts, ever.
=)
Whew your schedule wore me out reading it. But oh a sweet story.
Awwww! Love it!
Very busy you have been but oh what a wonderful time it sounds like you have been having with your sweet grands. Reading about the man and the bag pipes made me tear up...just so sweet. You were at the right place at the right time. I love bag pipe music. Thanks sweet Jenny for sharing that...I loved it. Hugs
Truly magical! Nothing like bagpipe music to stir the soul - especially with those two songs!
Lovely... Lovely... Lovely...
"I could feel your music in my heart." OMIGOSH. Hearing pipes, especially outdoors, moves my heart, too, and I believe that next time I hear them, I will remember your granddaughter's lovely words.
You made my day too. How sweet the sound.
ohhhhh ... Jenny that was just beautiful! ...it's all of these little moments that are magical that makes our hearts sing ... you story brought a little happy tear to my eye.
What a pleasant respite from a hectic day. I don't know how you do it! You're amazing.
What a treat! I love the sound of the bagpipes; they are so hauntingly beautiful, and what a wonderful reaction from your grand!
There is so much loveliness in this post - I can just picture you with your grands sitting on the grass absorbing the music - and then, the wonderful comments at the end. Truly, a moment to hold close to the heart.
Aww, how sweet! I love bagpipe music myself, having a scottish heritage, I think it is in the DNA!
That sounds really awesome. :D Glad you get to have a bit of a peaceful time despite running around a lot.
#2 sounds like a gem. And what a wonderful thing to hear on a busy day. Makes you want to stop and just listen to more than the music. Me anyway. I love to hear the beauty around me. What a truly magical day! Good choices made to stay, to help a little sister, and that was rewarded with a beautiful private concert.
Of course I've always known that you're a woman of impeccable taste - but this just underscores it! Bagpipe music is the music of the Gods. My brother and a sister are both pipers, so we are lucky to have pipes at every special family event.
When you least expect it, a wonderful memory is made.
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