Two pianos, two organs, a computer and an air hockey table greet visitors as they pass our front living room on their way through the main hall. That living room has been the home of more than 7,500 hours of piano practice alone (not to mention the organs).

Because I couldn't find one piece of music, I just organized all the music in that room out of boxes and benches and piles into two filing cabinet drawers, two Tupperware boxes and a bookcase. Tonight I opened that dang file cabinet drawer and sat down to play that piece - the last really good piece I learned before leaving for BYU - Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu.

I used to have it memorized, but apparently the last several years have left only a few lines intact. I was really surprised when it started differently from what I had remembered, but as I progressed through the pages, my fingers still remembered what to do most of the time.

In the last several years, I haven't had much opportunity to actually play the piano. Lots of accompanying and that sort of thing, but nothing classical. In fact, before pulling this Chopin out, I'd struggled a bit through some other, much easier music. Heck, I can't always play all the right notes in a hymn these days. I prefer to play around with the chords and do whatever I want, which works as long as I include the melody somewhere and am not trying to accompany a congregation. I'm not used to having to pay attention to detail anymore.

Fantasie Impromptu came out all right, though. Fantasie Impromptu is a much more difficult piece than any hymn. Just when my skill level appeared to be disappearing, I discovered I could still play this one?

I guess it has something to do with muscle memory and the fact that I spent so much time learning it (it took me about three months). Made me think about what a big deal it is to teach your kids good habits when they're young. My life is different from what it could be had I not learned good values as a kid - oh man - it's not too hard for me to see where I'd be without that, and I know I fall back on my family values a lot. Thanks to my parents, I have a way better life than I could otherwise. Same as how, thanks to my parents, piano teacher, and hours of practice, I can still play a really gorgeous song.