New piano...$5000; Family piano - priceless

Growing up, I took years upon years of piano lessons - I stuck with it not only because my parents wanted me to, but I also have a hard time quitting something once I've started. Call it stubborness or perseverance, but either way, it can be a good trait in most situations, but can also land me in some trouble if I don't know when to say when. In any case, sticking with piano lessons was one decision I'm glad I made - through the years it's come in handy when I want to just relieve some stress, entertain family, or play songs on Christmas morning. In highschool, one time I even played at a neighbor's Christmas party and earned a little extra spending money!

Over the last few months, since Paul and I have moved into our house and actually have room for a piano, we had talked on and off about buying a used one to use in the house. I really want the girls to grow up around music, and even though I can't play by ear and am not a professional by any means, at least they can discover music in this way and see how much value there is in being able to play an instrument.

When I mentioned buying a piano to my Mom the other day, she actually offered our family's upright piano to us. This piano is very special to me for many reasons: it was actually my Grandma's piano that she passed on to my Mom, but most of all, it was the piano I learned to play on and spent probably thousands of hours practicing while growing up. So to inherit this piano is more than amazing to me - it probably ranks up there with getting an engagement ring or buying our first house. It also means that this is the first time since I was 17 years old (not really saying how long ago that was!) that I will have a piano under the same roof where I'm living, and can play any old time I want!

We placed the piano in our front room, so you can see it from the front door and it will always be directly across from where we put our Christmas tree, so there couldn't have been a better spot for the piano. It even matched our wood floors perfectly, so it was like it was meant to be!

On top of the piano, I have framed one of my all-time favorite pictures...it's of my Dad at this very same piano, holding my sister Cassie on his lap, while I'm sitting next to him watching him play. I don't remember him playing at all, so maybe he was just playing chopsticks or something, but this picture is priceless and now it is in its proper place atop the very piano where we all sat over 30 years ago.

Hopefully, one day one of the girls will want this piano and I will be able to pass it along to them as my Mom did for me. These kinds of family heirlooms are priceless and could never be valued at a particular cost - just the treasure of so many memories and moments through the years.