My Grandson Ryker is a bluegrasser thru and thru

I had a heart warming and heart breaking experience today with my 9 year old grandson Ryker.  He's always loved to play bluegrass and jam with me from the very first time I put a guitar in his hands at age 7, but when he heard me play my mandolin for the first time his eyes lit up and he came running then begged me to teach it to him.  Ever since that first time he heard me play it he's been hooked on the mandolin. So last year I found an F style Savannah brand, which is Chinese made of course, but it's a beautiful mandolin with super cheap tuners, but it actually sounds good and looks beautiful too.  Anyway I was able to get him this mandolin for only $200 including a hard shelled case.  It's even got the curly maple sides and back, finished in a nice sunburst and as I said it plays easily and sounds pretty dang good for tone too.  So he's had this mandolin for a year now and has gotten a few lessons from me but now this summer we've really had the chance to start learning it better.  He's self motivated and practices it on his own 4 or 5 times a day plus the lesson time that we have together.
Now the point of this blog...
Today I went to town to teach my regular students and my grand kids were with me of course.  He loved that he got to come to the lessons and I had my core kids in The Bluegrasshoppers practicing for their stage set that they'll be playing on stage over Labor Day Weekend at Round Valley.
Now Ryker won't be able to be with us for this festival because I have to return them home to Pocatello, Idaho before Labor Day so that they can be back for school.
I didn't mean to hurt the poor little fella's feelings but I announced to the rest of the Bluegrasshopper band that he was going to sit in with us today and just practice, but that he wouldn't be playing with us on the stage at the Round Valley Festival.  Little Ryker looked at me and his whole countenance changed.  His eyes welled up with tears and he held back from crying but I felt like the worst grandma in the whole wide world.  I'd hurt his feelings and made him sad that he wasn't going to get to play. His thoughts were that I just wasn't going to take him.  I knew that I needed to set things straight and console him so I asked my Bluegrasshoppers to go ahead and practice the song "Man Of Constant Sorrow," and I'd be right back.  I took Ryker aside and explained to him that it wasn't anything to do with me not wanting to take him to this festival but that I had to have him back because of him needing to start school.  I explained to him that if I could I'd keep him forever and he would be able to go to all festivals with me but that he would have to be home to start school and this was the only reason he wouldn't be able to come and play.  Then I put my arm around him and told him that there was a good side to this though and that is the fact that because he has to go back to start school, we would be able to play for his class again and that our practice today would help him to be able to play better for his school when the time comes. He cheered up and regained his composure then joined in with our practice once again and was exuberant to get to play, but boy for a moment there I felt like a real crumb bucket of a grandma. 
It was an innocent remark by me to explain to the other kids that he wasn't new in their band but was just there to play with us for today.  I had no idea that his feelings for playing bluegrass are so close and in his soul so deeply at such a young age.  It taught me a valuable lesson.

Grandson Ryker playing with the Kids In Bluegrass at the Hardtimes Festival July 28th, 2012

Grandson Ryker playing bass and is sister our grand daughter Pyper playing mandolin.

He's just like me with a tender spirit with such a passion to play and at only 9 years old it's already there.  I hope he always has this same passion to play and that he'll be just like me when he grows up wanting to play like crazy.  I have taught him guitar, bass, and mandolin and he does pretty well for a 9 year old who rarely gets the help he needs for sure.  Anyway I've had deep feelings in my heart all day because of what happened earlier today.
I'm editing this post from what I had written earlier, because we were headed out the door to a neighborhood dinner and I was pushed to hurry so forgot to say the other very fun thing that happened today.  After our lessons, I went to the bank to deposit my pay I earned playing for the Hardtimes Festival last weekend.  All the ladies in the bank know that I teach bluegrass and that I play in a couple of bands.  Now living in such a small town our banks are much more personable than big cities so as I was doing my banking one of the ladies working at a desk began visiting with my grand kids. She was asking them about their names and what they've been doing all summer with grandma etc.  Naturally the grand kids told her about getting to play bluegrass.  When she asked them who their teacher was of course the answer was grandma.  So she commented that she'd like to hear them play sometime.  Well upon this request the grand kids tell her that they have their instruments in my Jeep.  So she asks if they'd like to bring them in and play for the bank.  I'm thinking okay I'll just grab the mandolin and the guitar and they can take turns on the mandolin because I didn't have either of their little Martin guitars with me.  So I head out the door to grab my guitar and the mandolin when Pyper says to me "what about my bass, I want to play my bass."   So then I of course couldn't leave her out on her main instrument so I had to haul in the big bass, the mandolin and my guitar.  They all helped me of course.  We played 3 songs for them "Hot Corn Cold Corn" of which Ryker took a break on it, then he played "Boil the Cabbage" with all 3 parts to it on his mandolin while Pyper was on the bass for those two, and finally we switched out and Pyper played mandolin with Ryker on bass for their favorite song, "Barefoot Nellie."  All the ladies in the bank just went crazy to hear them play.  As we were walking back to the car putting our instruments away the bank president came running out to the parking lot and thanked us for playing for them and told all the grand kids how good they were and how much they enjoyed it.
Our day in town ended with a bang.    I love you Ryker, Pyper, and Greisyn.  You guys and I will always play bluegrass together. How many people can say that they played bluegrass in their local banks for all the tellers... You guys can! 

5 year old grandson Greisyn, sings and "holds" the mandolin