it's been a month, might as well post something.

My mom and I don't get along. At best one could characterize our relationship as 'distant'.   Most of my formative years can be characterized by sitting in the waiting room with a book while she was in a bipolar support group. But for all her shortcomings, I would be a fundamentally different adult without her influence.
     Countless studies have demonstrated that when a person starts learning to play a musical instrument, the brain starts getting 'rewired' and making connections differently than brains owned by people who don't play an instrument. I can personally attest to this. When I was 5 i opened the lid of my mom's piano and played by ear the melody from 'Ode to Joy' in D major. Since a week later when my mom heard me playing it again, she started giving me piano lessons.
Playing music and listening to music is a huge part of my life and who i am as a person and I wouldn't have that without her. So for that, I say 'thank you'.