Take Tuesday afternoon for example.
I had big plans for Tuesday night, so I wore my favorite work dress to look classy and fantastic. I wasn't completely pleased with my hair, but when you're blessed with a lot of naturally curly hair, you learn that it has a mind of its own and you should learn to live with it. Anyway, I was gearing up for an afternoon of errands. These errands included a personal trip to bring donations for families who lost everything in wild fires across the state last week. I drove to one of the burbs, dropped off donations from a coworker, and headed back into the city to finish running errands.
Now, it's kind of a running joke how awful my luck is with cars. Read this for example. . .
So I'm driving toward the highway and all of the sudden my car doesn't want to keep going. I've had a few experiences this summer in which I was driving around in the crazy heat and my car was reluctant. I thought maybe it was the battery being affected by the gross triple digit plus moderate humidity summer. It usually restarts, but not this time. I'm in the middle of the road, barely out of an intersection, and I'm kind of panicking. So I called the troops, got a push from some strangers (and an offer for a push start, which I declined so someone could check out my engine) and start the waiting game.
Well, it was too darn hot to wait outside in a nice, mostly black suit dress, so I went into the nearest shop for A/C. Turns out it was a natural herb store with a lot of witch references and a robe. That was weird, but I guess it's quirky and adds to the story. Suffice it to say, the men folk showed up, tinkered under the hood, tried replacing a part, etc. I tried very hard to keep a decent attitude (and not have a road side mental break down) and not get crazy and cranky thanks to the heat. If you know much about how I deal with stress, conflict, and bumps in the road, keeping my mouth in check was quite a feat.
Two hours after the initial car betrayal I was home to clean up, find a new outfit, go out to dinner and recoup. My big plans included a show and after party featuring a Broadway legend. I'll be honest, I was almost so fed up that I wanted to curl up on my couch and reschedule, but I needed to keep moving to not really break down.
The show was AMAZING. As a dancer and musical theatre lover (I swear my inner monologue is a song and dance) I couldn't help but feel blessed to experience this show. It was Chita Rivera in concert! I would say I smiled the entire show, but there was one number that was kind of a crazy song and in my hyper-anxious mood it was almost enough to set me into an attack. (The song is called "Carousel" and was done extremely well. I think my almost panic attack is a testament to how effectively it showed the emotion of crazy, frantic carousel rides as a metaphor).
At the after party, I got to meet Chita briefly. Oh. My. Gosh. I want to be as vibrant as she is when I grow up. She literally made my day. I think that when I'm overwhelmed for the rest of the year I'll just look at this picture and remember how blessed my life really is:
It's the little things. Seriously though, this is how musical theatre can totally turn your day around. This woman can move, sing, and fully embrace life at an age when most people are well into retirement. Truly an inspiration. So much so, that she really deserves her own post. Perhaps later, but for now I'm just so grateful for the happy moments that can be the rainbow after the storm.
