My Convertible Life

Sunday, May 12, 2013

One Amazing Night

On any given day, I probably have three blog posts lurking in my head somewhere. Unfortunately, on any given day, I probably have about two minutes to spend actually writing them down.

And so over time, those posts collect in my brain and my fingers and get all tangled up until it's too hard to write once I finally do carve out some quiet time. The topics become too important or involved or complex to throw down in a 15-minute burst, and so I keep putting them off. It's kind of like how I don't call my best friends who live far away because I want to be sure I really have time to talk to them and of course I never really have that kind of time and so I keep not calling until it would probably take three days to cover all the things we want to talk about and we end up with a seven-minute cell phone chat in the carpool line instead which is totally unsatisfying and yet still better than nothing.

Phew.

So tonight I'm starting to unpack that very crowded brain, beginning with the thing that's probably hardest to put into words. Which is funny, I guess, given that the whole event was about showcasing writing.

Last week I had the incredibly good fortune to share a stage with 14 other local writers as we gave motherhood a microphone. The inaugural Raleigh-Durham edition of the Listen to Your Mother show was simply amazing -- and I say that not because I was in it.

It was amazing because it happened -- thanks to much hard work by Marty, KeAnne and others. It was amazing because so many people bought tickets that the show sold out the day before -- the audience was filled with friends and family who made me feel important by their presence. And it was amazing because of the live connection that I didn't know I craved until I was standing on stage.

It's one thing to sit here at my laptop, spill all these stories onto the screen and hit publish. Sometimes people will leave comments or send a tweet, occasionally someone I know will reference a post in conversation. For the most part, it's just me and the silence of my own writing.

So it's another thing entirely to stand in front of hundreds of people who are laughing and giving me real-time feedback as I read my writing aloud. I probably should have been nervous -- my pale face in the spotlight with nothing but a music stand to shield me as I confessed my story. Instead, I just felt connected, like I was part of something, like I was where I belonged.

The next day, I couldn't believe I had to go to work and make lunches and do carpool and the ordinary bits of things like nothing had happened. But I suppose that's just like the miraculous ordinary of motherhood.

When the nation LTYM site posts the video from the show on their YouTube channel, I'll let you know. In the meantime, I just want to say thank you to my friends and family who supported me with good wishes before and after the show, to my sweet husband who greeted me with two dozen (!) roses in the auditorium, and to my fellow cast members who made the whole amazing night possible -- I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready to take this show on the road.

Links to other blog posts from the LTYM-RDU cast following the show:

8 comments:

  1. I am dying to see the videos. I know no fewer than 6 women who performed and I have to watch them all at least once.

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    1. Will definitely let you know when they're live -- I can't wait to watch people from other cities and put faces/voices with names/blogs. Or maybe you could just come over to my house and we'll watch together :)

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  2. Oh, I do that with phone calls! I have actually been doing that with you for at least two weeks. Could you feel it? ;-) I really wanted to hear about this firsthand, but I am glad there will be YouTube soon.
    STK

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    1. I totally could! And I missed calling you on your birthday again. Damn.

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  3. Oh man, I wish I could have gone, it sounds amazing! I can't wait to see the videos!!

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    1. Thanks, Jenny -- would have loved for you to be there :) Hoping the videos will be up soon!

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  4. It's been so long since I've been over here, and it feels like catching up with an old friend. Just wanted to say I'm thinking of you over here on the West Coast, blogging friend, and cheering you on! This Listen To Your Mother event sounds amazing, and you *should* take that show on the road!!

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    1. This made me grin from ear to ear! A West Coast tour is just what I need :) Would be lovely to see you...

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