You had me at "cello"

So we have another new musical instrument in the house...in addition to the new drum set, we now have a cello!

Mark's school offers music lessons. He brought home a sign-up sheet, saying that third-graders could choose either violin or cello.

I figured he'd pick the violin, but what do I know? He wanted to play cello.

"Do you even know what a cello is?" I asked, and he nodded.

"It's like a big violin," he said. "I saw a girl carrying one--if she can carry it, I can TOTALLY carry a bigger one!"

And this is how we make decisions in our house--competitively. This, from the boy who whines about carrying his backpack into the house because it's too heavy.

"I know you can carry a cello," I said. "But will you carry the cello? From home to school? From class to music class? From class to after school care?"

"Yes!" he screamed. "I want to play the cello!"

I gave him a final chance. "Let's make a pro and con list for each instrument."

For the violin, the list looked like this:

• Pro: It's smaller, and easier to carry.
• Con: It's smaller, and easier to lose. (The kid lost his lunch box the first week of school, and his backpack and second lunch box the next week--so yes, losing things is ALWAYS a consideration!)

For the cello:

• Pro: It's bigger, and harder to lose.
• Con: It's bigger, and harder to carry.

You can guess from the picture above which instrument won.

I figured I'd just rent a cello, but when I called the music store, they gave me some alarming news. I could rent a cello for $50 a month, and apply that money toward purchasing the cello. That was the good news. The bad news was that the cello cost $1000, and they wanted me to give it to an 8-year-old to lug across the playground.

Did I mention he lost his lunchboxes and backpack already?? No WAY I'm giving that kid a $1000 instrument to lose somewhere between here and school!!

So it was on to Plan B. We drove to a music store and purchased a cello. It was only $200--I figured at that rate, if he loses or breaks it, I'm still ahead financially.

It's probably not the best quality cello, but after listening to him play for 10 minutes, I couldn't tell the difference. A high-quality cello in the hands of an 8-year-old probably sounds just as bad as an inexpensive one.

I knew I'd made the right decision when he started wheeling it around the dining room like he was walking a dog. "Look at me, mom!" he laughed, and as I turned to watch him, he lost his grip and sent the case crashing to the floor.

My heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, I saw all the fun times I could've had for $1000 flash before my eyes. But then, as Mark reported the cello was fine, I took a deep breath, and congratulated myself on making a smart investment.