the potential for music

Our living room got a little smaller last night. If you've seen my living room, you may be wondering how that's possible. I'll use a one-word explanation:

piano.

This piano has been ours for two years now, but the last time we moved, we left it with my grandparents indefinitely. I've been hoping for it ever since. Not that it's the highest quality instrument in the world. My mom found it on the Ithaca Free Cycle back in the day. The piano was damp and cold, having been forgotten on somebody's porch for ages. It didn't make a sound the first time it sat down in my living room. I was genuinely worried, but resolved to wait (for a miracle?). Within a month it made noise. Just noise --so I kept waiting. By the time we left it behind, it was playing every key --at least sort of.

Last night, with the help of some friends, we dusted off our free upright and brought it home to be our own. The transition turned the once-dainty little thing into a mammoth of a piano. It looks extra long in our living room. PTB even asked me last night if it was larger than a normal upright. Though I'm sure it is the normal size, it takes up a third of the living room, leaving space enough for the couch, an armchair, and a path between. Nothing more.

Now our home feels a bit more friendly and inviting all because we miraculously squeezed three pedals and 88 keys into our ridiculously small living room. Isn't it amazing what a little music can do? Or even just the potential for music?