All I Want for Christmas

Is what I received. I opened a huge box to see something that's been on my Deeply Wanted but Top Secret list for many years- a violin. It is a rented student violin, but if all goes well we'll upgrade. I always wanted to play a stringed instrument, mostly because I had ancestors and relatives on both sides of the family who were/are musically talented. If you come from the Nashville area, it comes with the territory. Before the days of radio, from mansions with grand pianos or organs to shacks with home-made banjos, everybody had a family member who played some musical instrument. Singing was a common way to spend an evening or make the workload lighter. Music was in our blood, from the Scotch-Irish ballads to bluegrass to Negro spirituals and hymns. I have wanted this for a long, long time. I'm figuring out the notes for the octaves the instrument covers now. What fun!