Ever since I wrote a young adult novel several months ago about a girl who learns to play the ukulele, I have wanted to learn how to play one myself. I learned to play the guitar when I was in elementary school, and played for years through high school and young adulthood.

Then I got busy raising a family and teaching and eventually stopped playing, except on special occasions. But those special occasions seemed to disappear some time ago. It’s so sad to give up music!

I was never that much of a musician. I prefer to listen to others play and sing. But something inside me was yearning to pluck some strings. So I did some ukulele research, and decided that I wanted the best. Well, THE BEST is apparently made in Hawaii, and is out of my price range at the moment. >SIGH<

Then I did some more research, read some ukulele blogs, and talked to my husband, who plays guitar and harmonica, and my son, who plays guitar, bass, and banjo. I also consulted with my nephew, who owns a ukulele. I decided to order a Lanikai concert ukulele online from Musician’s Friend. My ukulele was made in China. It was $99 plus tax, and shipped for free. But I am already in love…

When it arrived this morning I was VERY PLEASED. I opened the box, and then photographed the dramatic unveiling. The concert size ukulele isn’t quite as small as the standard, or soprano size. But it’s still pretty darn small!

I don’t usually name things. We named our children, of course! And we named our fish. But our vehicles remain impersonally called “the truck” and “the Subaru.” This time I decided to give an inanimate object a name of my own choosing. My first ukulele is to be known as “Seedling.”

Apparently it is common knowledge that once you acquire your first ukulele, others will follow. They can be addictive. A music hobby is an addiction that seems pretty healthy to me. I will refer to it as my “healthy habit.” Next time I’ll share my adventures with tuning my new ukulele!