It's never too late....to learn

                                                            "Winter Whites"
                                                   Watercolor Painting by Pat Fiorello

Yesterday was the first session of the spring semester class I teach,  Painting Flowers in Watercolor: Loose, Fresh & Easy.  The class was full with 15 students, 13 returning students and 2 new ones. One of the new students who I did not know, Jerome,  left me a message the night before that he was having some problems at home and might miss the class waiting for a repairman to show up.

Well about 15 minutes after class starts, I see the school security guard at the door. He opened the door to assist Jerome, who wheeled in on his walker , orchids and art supplies in hand. I soon learned that Jerome was 90 years old.  He had painted before, but had been sick for the past 5 years and didn't paint at all. He said" I've never been able to paint flowers. I can paint portraits, landscapes, but never flowers, so I came to learn". I was totally blown away, truly inspired and honored tot be teaching him. He had the enthusiasm and energy of a  young boy as he took on the exercises we did in class and painted his orchids.

I really thought about what it took for him to overcome the circumstances he was dealing with and show up to learn. It would have been easy to stay home and do nothing.  But here was clearly a person with a passion for learning, a love of art, a commitment to act and pursue what he wanted instead of just thinking about it.
 Jerome you are my hero.

Is there something you've always wanted to learn?  What are you waiting for??? It's not too late to start.