Good for your sister! And good for you too, that you recognized your lack of passion even though the skill was present. I hope you play for pleasure now that no one’s requiring it of you.

I’ve always been a singer and I loved playing around on my grandma’s piano every time I visited. She always encouraged me as I taught myself the basics from her old Thompson Method books. My parents loved to brag about my singing to others, but they actively discouraged me when I wanted to pursue music. A neighbor had a piano he wanted to give them after his wife died, and my parents declined because they couldn’t picture where it would fit in their cluttered house. They also refused to allow me to major in music when I went to college, and shot down my second choice, journalism, partly because they didn’t see the value in my love of writing, but even moreso because I wasn’t following the interests of my older sister (golden child) — if she hadn’t done it first, it was clearly not worth doing.

And here I am, 55 years old, with two jobs I love: I’m a worship leader for a large church, so I sing and play piano or synth every week, and I’m an editor who loves to blog. Ha! We may not get there directly, but people like your sister and me eventually arrive where we want to be.

How wonderful for her that you were there to cheer her on.