The Curtain is Closed

Another show has come and gone, and it is off to other things.

I think I've been in a little bit of a funk this week with the closing of "I Do! I Do!"  What an incredible experience to share with my husband, and we had such a fun time performing that show for the community.

One comment we kept hearing over and over was people couldn't believe the stamina we had to perform on stage, just the two of us, for two hours straight, and people wondered if we were exhausted at the end of the show.

It was just the opposite.  I think when you do something you love so much, it is like playing a favorite game, and we were actually energized at the end of the evening, not tired.  The only night I felt a little tired was last Saturday, when we performed two shows.  That tended to be a long day.

PKR kept commenting that it felt like we were "playing" like when we were little kids.  We were like two grownups who got to "play house" onstage.  And it was so much fun.

I learned to dance with a feather boa, and became very relaxed as I sang "Flaming Agnes" each night.  It just became more fun the more I performed that number.  (Even though my daughters were quite mortified by the whole performance, especially Z2)!

We had such wonderful audiences who responded to well to the story.  Because of many circumstances, I was able to see friends from high school I hadn't seen in a while, because they came to see the show.  That was such a blessing.

Our small crew that worked on the show each night was such a blessing.  From our director CSP, who brought things out of us we didn't know we could do, and her encouraging words each night as we performed, to JP playing the music each night, and keeping us on track, to KM who did the lights, and RW and CW who were our backstage crew the majority of the time, as well as some help from BC, Kiki Aru and CSP.

We were able to raise close to $1,000 to give to three different charities in the Silver Valley.  Meals on Wheels, The Shoshone Women's Resource Center, and Shoshone Community Health Clinic will each receive over $300 a piece to help people in the Silver Valley.

Most performances we didn't greet the audience, but we decided to on our last performance.  It was heartwarming to hear people share how good the story made them feel,  and how true to life it was for them, watching this couple through the ups and downs of their 50 years of marriage.

The last thing we sing at the end of the show are these words....

"Marriage is a very good thing, though it's far from easy...
Still it's filled this house with life and love."

I love leaving that message with people, because it is so true.  Marriage had its ups and downs, it goes through different stages, whether that be having babies, raising teenagers, children getting married, mid life crisis, menopause, or leaving the house you've lived in your whole married life to move into a smaller apartment, it is a tough journey, but it is a very good thing.  And it is totally worth it all.


Goodbye, Agnes.  Goodbye, Michael.

You both will always be a part of our marriage, and a part of our lives, and we are better because of it.  You will never truly leave either of us, and to that I am grateful.