Hey everyone, remember me? It’s been way too long since I have ( to borrow
from Madonna) “expressed myself”! I also
borrowed the title of this blog from a line from, you guessed it, a musical –
Godspell – one of my favorites. There
were many times in the past year since my last blog that I said – oh this would
be a great topic – and then I mostly likely dozed off. That seems to be happening a lot lately.
I, in the last few months, have done the following:
gave a shower- celebrated my son’s engagement- lost 19
pounds -threw a wedding - directed a show- enjoyed a weekend at the beach-
gained about 7 pounds back-changed jobs (for the better) and saw a certain Mr.
Bruce Springsteen …twice! What does this
all have in common you may ask- well, let’s talk about LOVE!!!
In all of these instances I have been surrounded by LOVE- and …” times being what they are”
in this world where hate seems to be in the news and in the air…. Love will always win! Dammit!
My youngest daughter got married. She was not a
Bridezilla at all- she knew what she wanted and it was pretty simple- good
food, good drinks, good music and ALL of the friends and family around. Looking back on her wedding and the tons of
weddings I’ve been to in the past- that is really all that matters- oh and
cake- not so much what it looks like and how many tiers there are –but the fact
that there is cake!
There was so much love
in that room it was extremely overwhelming.
The way their reception worked was there was a minimum amount that you
had to spend- their amount…not the one I had in mind, but whatever. Anyway, that system kind of enabled them to
invite more people and adjust the menu accordingly. So they were able to really invite ALL kinds
of friends and still fulfill my need for shrimp cocktail and bacon wrapped
scallops. It’s all about love- love of the people that make your life meaningful and the seafood
appetizers that bring meaning to your life.
In between the shower and the wedding- my son asked his
girlfriend to marry him. She is a doll
that fits right in with our family and seeing him so happy makes my heart
sing. Her dad and I were good friends
in high school and have always kind of kept in touch here and there. When they started dating and started to get
serious – it all made sense to me. There
are people in your life that are put there for all different reasons. Now when we were getting in school suspended together for some crazy high school hijinks-
I’m sure I wasn’t thinking that my son and his daughter would ultimately make
us family. I was thinking I hope this
doesn’t go on my permanent record. If
someone told me back then what the future had in store -I would have probably
thought– “hey cool – I’m gonna have a son...”
But what this all means is that we are going to experience yet another
year of family, and food and music and yes …. love!
In between now and the upcoming nuptials – I will direct
another show, but let me talk about the last summer adventure- We did Seussical – the Musical! It was adorable AND profitable which isn’t
always the case in our little community theater. Beside the amazing talents of my directorate
and the crazy talented cast- I was able
to find a little part for the shinning stars of my life, my grandchildren. You can call it nepotism, but really who else
can play (and sing- on key) the young kangaroo and what can be cuter than a
little curly headed almost 3year old as Horton’s little elephant bird. I was so proud of them and couldn’t have loved them more when they were bowing
for their curtain call. But I also was hoping that I was instilling my love and my family’s love of the theatre. Now my grandson is very, very comfortable on
the stage and at seven, has a resume longer than Nathan Lane and my little lovey
granddaughter just got her first pair of tap shoes. Here we go-the next generation- we are not
the Barrymore’s but that doesn’t mean we don’t love the show biz!! There
is just something about the theater that brings so much joy and pleasure to my
otherwise normal (?) life. Being a part of a production- from beginning to end
is one of my favorite things… (I should just * star musical references). I love the “putting it together” * the thrill
of “another opening another show” * and the people* - especially the
people! But I get the same rush of
excitement seeing show that I had nothing to do with- or hearing a familiar
show song that I know the alto part to…thanks to Sirius radio – I have been
late more than once because “Hamilton” came on or have been seen “Fosse-ing” to
the “Cell Block Tango” in the Target parking lot. But whether it’s hearing “Maria” from West
Side Story or “For Forever” from Dear Evan Hansen (that line – “two friends on
a perfect day”)--- I literally become those theater faces- laughing and
crying!! It is truly what I do /did for
love * (that was a reach)
But speaking of Broadway- I was extremely fortunate
enough to see Springsteen on Broadway.
The tickets were impossible to get –but thank you to my fairygodsisterinlaw- I
was able to take part in this once in a lifetime experience. Being in that beautiful Walter Kerr Theatre-
being in the midst of Broadway …the show posters and marquees- (we were never lost
because of them- turn right at Book of Mormon.) I was totally overwhelmed from
the get –go. The show was incredible- I
have only seen him in huge venues and with the E Street Band behind him. He walked out on the empty stage graced with
just a piano and a microphone and sang and told stories. His voice, his
spectacular guitar playing was exemplified with the acoustic of that
magnificent theater. He never sounded better. He sang a song about his mom- I cried, he sang
with his wife- I cried…the lady next to me who periodically handed me tissues,
hugged and kissed me at the end of the show. Probably thinking – who is this
emotional mess? But it was that kind of experience. It was like being in church for me- he even
said the Our Father- and yes, I cried.
Okay so we kind of
stalked him a little – a couple of teenagers in their fifties waited by the
stage door and got a glimpse and a video of him waving at US!
Not everyone gets it- but this man has been a part of my
life since before I met my husband at 19…. he has been the soundtrack of our
life. I truly love this man- his
politics, his words, his commitment. I
actually need to see him one more time to make it an even 20! So when I told my
dad of my plans to fly to NYC to see Bruce, he actually rolled his eyes and
said “again?” - and I said – Dad- He’s my Frank Sinatra- My dad now gets it-
and – I cried.
Now people use the words love and hate so matter of factly- I have been trying not to use
the word Hate so much- it’s an ugly word and has a new meaning in this stupid
Trump era …and I heard somewhere you should use the word love when you are referring to something that can actually love you back- well I am WAAAAAYYYY
too dramatic for that theory because I LOVE
coffee and it loves me!!!
When I became “Gaga” my love levels went up- I can’t think of a love that is more intense and powerful than the love for your baby’s baby…. that being said here is a list of some
of the other things I love
– in no particular order
Popcorn
Kittens
Fresh Sheets on your bed
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Lamb Chops
Laughing with my Goombadi about the stupidest things that no one would ever understand
Shoes
Curtain Calls
Girlfriend ... your REAL girlfriends
Coffee with my sister
The first snow (and especially snow days)
Crosswords puzzles on my patio
New Crayons (anything color coordinated actually, in
particular peanut M& M’s)
Puppy bellies
All you can eat Crab Legs - (honestly, all you can eat anything)
Obscure references that people get (for example - real
housewives- you know who you are)
Lilacs
Getting a text with stupid movie quote from my kids
The Beach
My ever growing Family
The items on this list are constantly increasing and
changing (unfortunately so is my “me no likey” list). I believe the more love you put out into the universe- the
positive- the giving people the benefit of the doubt- the more comes back to
you. When those two babies come running
with sheer delight just to see me – I feel like maybe I’ve done something right
in this life. Although lately, my phrase
du jour has been:” I hate people” - I have to change that up a bit- it’s kind
of negative, right ? How about something like… “F***ING JERKS!!!” Short and
sweet. My closing thought to you all is
stop the hating- and the complaining – use Facebook for pictures of food- pets
and babies and not the bashing (unless I agree with you) and try to stop the judging-
try the whole walk a mile in my heels thing,
first …but I gotta admit – I love a good judge-fest – with coffee and peanut
M&M’s color coordinated of course…. Now to borrow a page from Watch What
Happens Live, the Andy Cohen show on Bravo – if we were playing the drinking
game and the word was love- you
would have had to drink 24 times- and obscure reference – I know- but like I
said …I love those- oops…make it 25-
just sayin’
