If it sounds too good to be true, buy Benadryl!

(Picture taken after HOURS of cleaning!)

Growing up there were very few 'privileges' my mother (a hard-working single mom) was able to afford for my sisters and I. The two that were most important for me were:


1. Braces. Yep, I BEGGED to have my mouth wired and LOVED going to the orthodontist every month. If you ever see (and maybe I'll rustle one up sometime) a picture of me pre-orthodontia you'd understand why I was so EXCITED to become a 'metal-mouth'. I wore them proudly and took fantastic care of them and my teeth. In fact, I never once broke a bracket in the almost two years I sported them. Each month I'd pick rubber-band colors to match the season or school colors... Seriously - nothing but fond memories of those days!! LOL!! To this day I wear my retainers at night (most of the time!) and brush AT LEAST three times a day and floss no less than once a day (usually twice).


The payoff? 'Best Smile' in my Senior yearbook. (Apparently all of my classmates remembered what I'd looked like before... ;-)


2. Piano Lessons. For eight years my mom financed my weekly lessons so I could play an instrument I've loved since birth. I didn't even own a piano when I first began... Instead my mother purchased me a tiny keyboard (no more than two octaves) and to make up for the notes I didn't have I cut out and taped paper notes to the sides of the keyboard. A couple of years later I received an old-school organ for Christmas. I don't know where my mom got it from, but it had more keys than they keyboard and I was thrilled! (Though as my playing improved I still had to tape keys to the sides of the organ as well...) Finally, a few years later, one of my mother's friends gave me her old piano to make room for a new one.


Heaven.


If there was one thing I regret the most about moving it's that we weren't able to bring my piano with us. We moved from BYU (Utah) and to this day my piano sits at my mom's house in Montana; too heavy to ship.


It has now been close to seven years since I had ready-access to a piano and I know whatever talent I used to have has dulled tremendously. I've scoured Craigslist and Freecycle religiously and always manage to be the '8th' person in line...(i.e. too late!). Then on Wednesday a friend of mine called me with a number of a lady who was GIVING away a free piano. I called and she said I could take it! She said it needed to be cleaned up a bit, but that her kids never played it and that is was in great condition.
I cried.


The next day (yesterday) I rented a trailer and a couple of Justin's buddies and him went to pick it up. When he brought it home,
I cried again.


Cat feces were smeared all over the sides, cat urine was soaked into the wood, cobwebs and inches of dust filled the box, the hammers and strings were in need of replacement and the upper-range keys had been wet (with feline body-fluids, no doubt) at some point and had consequently expanded so they stuck when played. As I'm typing this the smell of ammonia from the cat pee is permeating my house. I have glade candles lit and multiple glade plug-in fans running.


Justin and I went through almost two Costco containers of Clorox wipes to clean it - thinking it might be salvageable - but gave up when my left eye started swelling shut and I couldn't stop sneezing or keep my nose from running. The dander from the pooping/peeing piano-cats was in every crevice! We fought a good fight, but lost the war.

As of the time of this post I have successfully downed almost an entire bottle of Benadryl and taken at least six Tylenol. This morning I woke up with my left eye completely sealed shut and the right one was getting pretty crusty, too. And of course, this experience has NOT helped my arguement for getting a pet! (I still maintain that it IS possible to have a pet AND a clean home!)

My first order of business this morning: I listed the piano on Craigslist - obviously for free! Only I disclosed ALL the facts! Surprisingly there have already been a ton of replies. My only requirements were: 1. Pick up as soon as possible, and 2. Bring your own truck.

W H Y ???!!!
I know I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up that much! But is it so wrong to be an eternal optimist?! Maybe I'll just go out and buy a plank of plywood and paint some keys onto it. :-)