"I wish my parents hadn't let me quit piano lessons."

"I wish I'd never given up the piano."

"I always wanted to play, but it's probably too late now."

Over the course of three decades as a music critic, I've heard plaintive statements like those literally hundreds of times. So has Elaine Claridge, who hadn't played in 52 years, but dreamed of becoming a pianist again.

Elaine is 80.

She's now taking lessons with Bellevue piano teacher Donna Sams, who reports that Elaine's scale speed is improving every week. She doesn't let the occasional mistake bother her; Elaine's philosophy is, "It doesn't have to be perfect for me to enjoy it."

By now you probably have figured out that Elaine isn't your usual 80-year-old. Slender and energetic, she looks at least a dozen years younger than her calendar age, and it is no surprise to hear that her mother lived to be a robust 102. Elaine does all her own yard work, right down to the beautiful English-style floral borders, the neatly mown lawns and the substantial vegetable garden with its tidy rows of greenery.

She hauled the pea gravel for the gravel walkways, and she engages in mild warfare with the local bunny rabbit who's always after those tender vegetable shoots. (Thus far, the rabbit's gotten only a few of the plants.) When trees need pruning, Elaine is up there on her ladder.

This mother of five still is an avid downhill skier (she likes Stevens Pass, on sunny days), and she has had a lifetime career as a therapeutic dietitian. She formerly taught nutrition to nursing students at Syracuse University. Elaine also is an avid seamstress, preferring the complicated Vogue Couturier patterns; one recent project was a dressy black tweed jacket trimmed in velvet.

Is there anything this woman cannot do?

"Well, I am computer illiterate," she confesses.

"I'd rather phone my children and hear the sound of their voices than send them an e-mail."

Life has not always been easy. Elaine has some macular degeneration in one eye, which recently forced her to give up tennis because she has trouble seeing the ball. Her husband, a microbiologist who worked for Bristol Meyers/Squibb, retired in 1986 and then had a serious stroke (he has recovered well enough to get around with a walker). Elaine says she's glad their Woodinville home, where they have lived for the past 18 years, is close to the doctor and the physical therapist. They even have an ophthalmologist living across the street.

The Claridges moved there 18 years ago, when Woodinville was considerably quieter than it is now.

"We lived in upstate New York for 30 years, and I certainly don't miss the snow — 108 inches a year!" she declares. "I like snow just fine, but I want it to be the kind that I can visit on the ski bus."

Elaine grew up in Vancouver, B.C., where she became one of 16 in the first graduating class of therapeutic dietitians at the University of British Columbia. She had a year's internship with a nearby hospital and later became the dietitian for the first school-lunch project in the U.S., in Iowa in the late 1940s and early 1950s. As part of a team, she did hands-on research with schoolchildren, keeping a record of their nutrition.

"You won't be surprised to hear that we discovered a direct correlation between soft drinks and dental caries," she explains.

Elaine also worked with the other end of the age spectrum after the federal government mandated that dietitians oversee nutrition at nursing homes. Experienced dietitians were in high demand, but she always made sure she was home before the school bus arrived.

In her free time, she also was superintendent of home arts and crafts for the New York State Fair for several years, when Nelson Rockefeller was governor.

On the Web

www.mtna.org: To find MTNA-certified piano teachers in your area, visit this Web site and enter your state, instrument and ZIP code.

www.wsmta.org: The Washington State Music Teachers Association's helpful Web site. Click on "Chapter Websites" on the menu across the top of the page, then click on the appropriate chapter to look for teacher referrals. The Eastside Chapter's referral phone is 425-378-0464; the Seattle one is 206-583-0849. Snohomish County Chapter is 425-252-3339, and South King County is 425-228-8721.

"Education has always been very important to our family," she says, sipping tea in the living room that overlooks a wide green valley.

"I wanted all five of our kids to graduate from universities with no debt. They'd get scholarships, or we'd assist them. They had had the benefit of a very nice school music program in New York State, by the way, and they all have an appreciation for music, though none is a professional. They'd have a violin bow in one hand and a soccer ball in the other, growing up."

Their youngest plays violin and piano, and as Elaine listened, she found herself missing the keyboard more and more.

"I was inspired by what she was playing. I thought there's no reason on Earth why I couldn't come back to the piano."

But it had been a long, long time away — more than 52 years, in fact. The early days of piano lessons started at age 8 and ended shortly after college, and Elaine knew her fingers would be rusty. She was afraid to look for a teacher, not knowing where to turn.

"But you can only play so much tennis and do so much gardening. I needed something for my mind and my soul."

One of her tennis partners had a young child studying the piano, and Elaine asked for a recommendation of a piano teacher. From a short list of possible names, she picked the closest studio — that of Donna Sams. Elaine dredged up a piano piece she still remembered from her earlier years at the piano.

"I was a nervous wreck," Elaine remembers.

"I played the Chopin Waltz in A-Flat Major for her, sort of. It wasn't very good. I had forgotten a lot."

What made everything OK was Sams' patience and kindness, and her faith in Elaine's ability to learn. It also helped that she had earlier experience that could be revived and augmented.

"I sure made the right choice!" says Elaine today, of her decision to study with Sams. "She praises me even if I stumble and slow up. I never feel that I have to hurry. I also study the theory and history of music, and even composition. I've been with Donna for eight years now, and I am so happy. I have a great satisfaction in playing the piano and in my lessons with Donna."

Sams is proud of what Elaine is accomplishing.

"Her positive thinking is amazing. For her, the glass is always half full, and she has that determination and discipline to succeed. Her scale speed is going up week by week, and her technique is improving.

"You know, attitude is more important than anything else — it's more important even than talent. She has a very strong desire to learn. And with music, I see her express herself in ways she couldn't in language."

At her home, Elaine concludes our interview by playing one of her favorite pieces, a Bach Prelude in D Major. She's a little nervous about playing in front of a music critic, but she's game.

"I know I'm going to make mistakes," she explains as she walks to the keyboard. "But I don't care! I just keep on going and enjoying the music."

And she does. The Bach piece emerges, not flawless but very musical, nicely phrased and played with obvious involvement. No wonder Elaine's kids are impressed; she's doing remarkably well.

"Here's what I think," she says. "You're never too old to learn something new. I'm even thinking of going to the senior center and learning bridge. I've heard it keeps you very sharp.

"It's all in your attitude. I look on the bright side and enjoy every day for what it brings. Every day is great!"

Melinda Bargreen: mbargreen@seattletimes.com