When I read this prompt, I immediately thought of a fun day I’d like to relive.
But then I realized this prompt could go two ways; I could pick a day that was awesome, or I could pick a day where I wish I had made different choices.
The latter option produces all sorts of memories that seem not good for a public blog such as this, so I’m going to go with my first instinct instead!
A day I wish I could do over again is the one when I was a high school senior and I got to play a movement of a Shostakovich concerto with an orchestra.
(I uploaded the recording to YouTube and you should be able to see it in this post. If not, you can click here to watch it. There’s a pretty long orchestral intro, but I do eventually start playing the piano!)
This was special because I had to audition and be chosen in order to play in the concert. And it was special because pianists almost never get to play music with dozens of other musicians.
(It is both the best and worst thing about being a pianist; you can make lovely music all on your own, but you almost always play on your own!)
I’ve been listening to Houser lately, a solo cellist who plays with an orchestra, and it’s made me remember how much fun it was to do that.
So. I wish I could go back to the day of the concert and play with the orchestra one more time.
That was beautiful, Kristen. How fun that would be to be able to go back and do that again! I agree there are several days I wish I could go back and make different choices. But that is life, and hopefully I have learned from some of those questionable choices.
A fun day I would like to relive (going waaaay back) would be a day of sledding with my siblings and neighborhood friends when the ice/snow conditions were just perfect! We were able to start in the next door neighbors’ back yard, through our back yard, cross a street and travel about 2 blocks down the road on our sleds. We had so much fun. It was the perfect night of sledding with neighborhood kids having fun in small town Wisconsin. We were never able to replicate those conditions and for some reason that night of pure fun and joy has stayed with me many, many years later.
Thanks for uploading the video! I loved listening to it. You did a wonderful job!
I would relive the last full day of our trip to Hong Kong at the end of 2017. My kids were 3, 1, and the youngest was 9 weeks in the womb. We were over our jet lag by then. We rode a series of escalators that take you up the side of a mountain (35 escalators in all that day), had a picnic at a place near wild monkeys (my in-laws had spotted a few monkeys there before, but the day we went we saw hundreds!), we played at a cool playground, visited the zoo, and rode a trolley like Daniel Tiger. It was amazing. Right now I miss my in-laws like crazy because it’s been so long since they’ve been able to visit and travel restrictons/requirements in HK are only getting worse, not better. I would love to relive that ‘pre-National Security Law’ trip to HK and hope that’s how I always remember the country.
You are so talented on the piano! I am very, very impressed, and I loved listening to this piece.
Oh, wow! The music is amazing! There was a recent blog about careers, and I think I remember being surprised that you didn’t list “musician” or “pianist”. But my memory could be wrong. Clearly you have natural talent and put a lot of hours of work into it. For me, that would have been a terrible day. I had neither talent, desire, willingness, patience, or any of the things required. I took lessons in piano and flute for about 5 years and hated it. I wonder about now- I’m different! But my schedule and my arthritis tell me that how’s probably not the time. So I’ll be an appreciative listener!
Days to do over because of poor choices, etc.: too many to count! Actually more like bad minutes in otherwise good days. Great days to do over because of how happy they were: many, many! But they would all be simple days just spent doing normal things with my husband and daughter, or later including my step-daughter, her wife, and my grandsons. Just sitting around with these amazing people would be such a joy.
I relive a day that acts as my “happy day” when I feel like I will explode with stress. We were living in Scotland and my husband my husband and I had each survived a catastrophic illness so for the first time we were both healthy at the same time. We lived in a 150 year old stone house and the bedroom had been retrofitted with a giant window that went from nearly ceiling to waist height. Our bed was next to the window and looked out onto a sheep field. It was April and the newborn lambs were hopping around all over the field, among the daffodils what were in bloom. I had just woken up and was lying in my husband’s arms and looking out onto the blue sky, green grass, white lambs and yellow daffs. I remember thinking that this was a good as it gets, to be alive and healthy and young and looking out on such a peaceful world while in the arms of the person I most loved in the world. I wish I could relive that moment in reality, not just in my mind!
That was a beautiful performance!
Please pardon my frankness, but you seriously downplay your musical abilities. You share so much of your life in your blog content: your family, your home, your hobbies. No mention of being a classical pianist!
I do recall a few old posts about teaching your children piano and possibly doing private piano lessons in the past and coordinating music at church, but it is seriously under represented on The Frugal Girl blog.
And to get back to the prompted topic, so many regretful moments immediately come to mind when I simply think about “a day I wish I could do over.” To follow your lead, I literally had to reframe the prompt in my head to “a very happy day for me.”
August 2019 was a very special extended family vacation to the Outerbanks. The beach was beautiful, the time together fun and easy-going and the last vacation spent with my dear aunt. She passed away in July 2020, but I can recall the trip to the Outerbanks with such happiness and appreciation.
Beautiful job! I have always loved Shostakovich! I’m a retired private violin teacher. Some of my favorite memories are from performances like this with orchestral accompaniment as well. My first memory of a performance like this was at about 8 or 9 performing Bach’s Concerto for two violins in d minor with my brother who is a year older than I . However, by the time I was in my 2nd year college, my nerves started to get the best of me at both auditions and performances. Thankfully I realized how much I loved teaching so I switched from performance to education and never looked back! I loved teaching and never missed getting back on stage. So I think if I could go back and relive performances before my nerves started to hit, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Otherwise, I’ll leave it to others who enjoy it more than I did in college! Thanks for sharing the video!
Oh, these have been fantastic to read.
Definitely, I think of moments of chagrin that I’d like to redo in some better way. I do well enough at self-flagellation without intentionally mentally reliving them though.
Otherwise, I can think of shining moments in any stage of life. Little moments, mostly, but lovely moments. Winning the county spelling bee in sixth grade. The dinners after high school graduation and my wedding. A summer when everything was clicking with our harvest crew. Receiving the respect award at college graduation. The summer right after we were married when we should have paid more attention to how we spent our time and money, but we didn’t; we just worked hard and played hard. The first closing program of our VBS program reboot. The birth of the last baby, in the pickup, all by myself. And almost daily, little bits with my kids where I see what kinds of adults they’re likely to become.