My dad wanted me to play guitar and sing country music, or else be a comedian. He had given me a .22 single shot rifle from the Western Auto store for my eighth birthday, but I wasn't that good of a shot. When I was 9, he bought me a cheap guitar from the same Western Auto store, along with some 45's that showed how to tune and play it. I learned G C and D7 chords. That made it so I could play 'Yer Cheatin' Heart' and a few other country tunes. He was happy.
When I turned 10, my Mom got me a Boosey and Hawkes alto sax, and a years worth of lessons from the local music teacher (who was a pianist and a violinist). My dad wasn't quite so happy, because it was a long while before I learned Yakety Sax. By then, he had taken off with a gal he worked with, leaving my non-working Mom a bunch of bills and no skills. I kept working at the sax so she wouldn't sell it. She eventually went to work at the hospital after being trained as a Nurse's Assistant.
Through High School, I played rhythm guitar on borrowed guitars. Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Grand Funk Railroad, Iron Butterfly. The guys always let me in the band not because I was particularly good on guitar, but the fact that I could figure out how to play the tunes. At least I convinced THEM that I could. Actually, I couldn't figure out the voicings, I just got the chords.
Through college and the like, I gave up on guitar. Then, a couple of years ago, I was asked to teach a guitar class at the high school. Soo, I invented a course where I teach music theory and reading music using the guitar. I've had to practice a bit, just to keep ahead of my students.
Frankly, I really don't care for the guitar, but I can manage on it--including reading simple tunes.