Anything Can Happen In The Woods

Foolishness can happen in the woods. Seize the moment. Skies may fall any moment. All we have are moments. - The Prince

I never saw In The Woods, but dang. I wish I had now. In my 6th class with Ms. Betty Lynn Buckley, she suggested I look into doing a song from Into The Woods. Something sung by the Baker's Wife. Great music from what I've heard. I've definitely found my own meaning in the song "Moments In The Woods." The Baker's Wife is in the woods and a prince comes along and kisses her. As all fairytale princes do, he disappears again. Or is it the princesses that always disappear....? Anyways, she goes on to sing about this alternate reality that she might could lead, but she knows it's not practical.

That's my problem. Practicality. I've got an unfortunate mix of both my mom and my dad - one side is the dreamer creative arts side. The other is the practical proven facts side. Maybe it's fortunate. Jury's still out.

The problem is that my practical side has generally won. Not without kicking and screaming from my mother - I mean the dreaming side of me. It started at the age of toddler when I had a conversation with mom about being a ballerina and a doctor. She explained to me that ballerinas do shows at night and doctors have to be at the hospital to take care of patients.

It was a pivotal moment in my life.

Who wins? Practicality? Or dreamer?

Unfortunately practicality has started rejecting me. Nice. After all we've been through together, too. And how many times have I chosen you, Practicality, over your nemesis the Dreamer?

Doing the song interpretation workshop with Betty Lynn Buckley has been extraordinary. Exactly what's kept me afloat in this hurricane of the unknown. And maybe it's nothing more than a buoy to keep my head above water until the storm calms. But my Dreamer asks, "Could it be more?? Is it my time to shine? Don't you wanna land the role of a lifetime? Point me to the sky! It's my turn to fly!"

As the Baker's Wife, Joanna Gleason sings, "This is ridiculous, what am I doing here, I'm in the wrong storyyyyyyyyyy." But being kissed by a prince is too much to ignore completely. She flirts with the idea for a while, but like myself...the Baker's Wife clears the fog from being kissed by a prince, and practicality returns.

Wake up, stop dreaming, stop prancing around the woods

It's not beseeming, what is it about the woods

Back to life, back to sense, back to child, back to husband

You can't live in the woods

Just a moment, one peculiar passing moment

And to get what you wish only just for a moment, these are dangerous woods

Let the moment go, don't forget it for a moment though

Now it's time to leave the woods

I'm not leaving just yet. The water's still pretty choppy out here.

One less bell to answer...

One less egg to fry. One less thing to put on my calendar.

And if I haven't said it lately, Barbra Frickin' Streisand.

My head has become (even more so) a constant playing of showtunes. No, no, no, I mean constant.

For those of you opposed to a life that breaks out in choreographed song and dance, you are missing something incredible - there's a broadway song written for every moment!! Don't you see the implication of this?!?! If we all became musically savy, we really could live life in song and dance! Together!!

Well, maybe not the dance part.

But whatever.

This past Friday I hosted a Compassion table for a Willow Creek conference at a local church. There's some big things coming up that you are going to want to be a part of.

I mean BIG.

Show stopping even. Defying Gravity big.

But we'll come back to that later. There's still a few things that need to be ironed out on my part, and we'll all get big together.

New York City big.

If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow

This may sound like a repeat of my most recent post "It's kinda funny..." but I think I need the reminder of how that one finished out.

I've had a "If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh why can't I" kind of week.

"Somewhere Over The Rainbow" is a fantastic song. Not just musically, but emotionally. It translates across so many emotional states that you can apply it to just about any situation. Even those of you who aren't the dreamer type can relate to a wanting for hope, and seeming to find it all around you without it being your own.

My somewhere over the rainbow will come with a new future. And lots of time. Frankly it's disappointing to see your life change unexpectedly, and mostly unnecessarily, but it happens. Rolling with the punches is trying when you're tired and worn. But when all the clouds darken up the skyways, there's a rainbow highway to be found.

Thanks to all who have stood by me during the disappointment, and for those who will continue to do so. Special props to Tammy Tra(y)bosh, Ashley Hanson, and my very favorite Heather Rubin for countless minutes (and future hours) of painful conversations and encouraging words with heartfelt empathy and void of cliche. And also to my mom for today's feel-better-and-look-cute gift of duo Buxom gloss in Pixie and Lacey. It's nice to have tingly pink lips to cover up a mending heart.

Tomorrow starts a new week. A new day. I'll look beyond the rain, somewhere over the rainbow... way up high.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone (in the usual Broadway song and dance style)

It's kinda funny...

It's funny how some things don't work out how you think they will. I guess that's just life though, eh?

This past week -- scratch that -- this past year has been a picture of that. Up. Down. Left. Right. Here. There. Yes. No....

Hmph.

I guess all we can do is be prepared and take life as it comes. In all it's changing and unpredictability. "Be prepared"...sounds like it could be a song from an animated Disney movie....oh, wait...

So I continue on in preparation. Error correct. Keep a one-pointed focus. Soham.

Change is inevitable. Pain is inevitable. Uncertainty is inevitable. Error correct -- Joy is present. Family is constant. Jesus lives.

It's funny how some things don't work out, but then again, it's funny how somethings do.



Preview picture by Scott and Tem Photography www.scottandtemphotography.com

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone (in the usual Broadway song and dance style)

Apparently orphans dream like I do

I can only imagine how many people didn't read this post because the title had the word "orphan" in it....

Saturday Davis and I welcomed in our newest family member - Compassion sponsored child Agnes. She will be celebrating her 14th birthday on August 6th. So exciting for a Compassion child to receive a sponsor at the time of their birthday. Agnes is special to me for a few reasons.

For one, she's an orphan. Her home is Tanzania, Africa which is a country highly populated with HIV/AIDS. I can only imagine the fate of her parents. She lives with her grandmother and sister.

For another reason, Agnes is a girl. Although I love the 3 boys we sponsor and the 1 correspondant, I have a deeper connection to our (previously) only sponsored girl Mukantwari in Rwanda. You may remember that Mukantwari sent me a letter in January (written on the day I flew into Haiti) stating she had a seizure. I received a letter from her last week that said she was glad to hear that I am a "doctor" that takes care of children with seizures, and she wanted to know if patients get better when they take their medication every day like she does. (Good girl. Americans don't take their medication every day. Maybe there's a different value of life when you've seen it needlessly lost as her country surely has.) The nurse in me wants to get on a plane and fly myself (and a CT scanner) to Rwanda to get a full health history and some images. But I have to trust that God will divinely protect her from some tumor or other serious condition causing the seizures. Or, if He doesn't, He's given the glory from us anyway.

Another reason I chose Agnes....her favorite activities are singing, playing house, and arts.

A girl after my own heart.

You can sponsor an orphan through Compassion as well. The sponsorship helps provide for their physical, spiritiual, emotional, and social needs. All through the local church in the name of Jesus. Copy and paste to see them here: http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm?referer=101087

Tonight is my 3rd class with Ms. Betty Buckley. It's been a great experience.

Haven't even hurled once.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone (in the usual Broadway song and dance style)

Easy As Life

Tomorrow is my date with "destiny." In the form of Tony Award winner Betty Buckley. That's right folks. Tomorrow I start my first of 6 song interpretation classes with Ms. Betty Buckley.

Hurl. Flush......Hurl.

We are to prepare 2 story songs. Of course I've always got something "prepared" for times like these -- you never know when you'll run into a famed musical theater actor that would like to see you perform.....

Up sleeve #1: "Easy As Life" from Aida.

A beautiful song sung by the Nubian princess, Aida, who was captured and has fallen in love with the captain of the Egyptian guard. They realize that their love cannot sustain their elaborate lives, and she choses to leave him. She leaves him for another kind of love - for the sake of her father the King and her people. It's as easy as life.

I can relate to the sarcasm.

Up sleeve #2: "No Good Deed" from Wicked; "Don't Rain On My Parade" from Funny Girl; or "The Wizard and I" from Wicked.

No, I'm not going that prepared....I can't decide. I have been going back and forth on these for a couple of weeks now. Some are harder to sing than the others. But the others may not be as easy to follow with a lone piano player. While the other isn't as good of a "story song," like was requested of us.

Tomorrow night is a lecture, and we start the performing piece on Wednesday. So in all my free time between now and then I'm sure I'll have it sorted out.

Hurl. Flush.

Eh, what am I so nervous about. It's only Betty Buckley. She only made "Memory" from Cats famous. Psh.

It'll be easy as life.

"Thousands flee in panic!"

Ever seen Newsies? Writing a blog title is kinda like that. What can the title say that'll make you read it? It's tricky really because I've got only a few lines to summarize an entire blog while peaking your interest. There's a scene in Newsies where Jack Kelley played by Christian Bale (sigh) shouts his own version of the headline to the crowd: "Ellis Island in flames!! Thousands flee in panic!" However, the story was really about a trash fire that terrified some seagulls.

Thankfully that is not what my blog is about today.

That's just my catchy headline.

So what's the point? The point is, I need you to "follow" me. Not in the Jesus-said-take-up-your-cross-and-follow-me kinda way, but in the I'll-read-your-blog-when-I-get-a-sec kinda way.

Why?

Because I'd like 2011 to be the year I enter to be a Compassion blogger and go on a trip with them! Hopefully to one of the 6 countries I have Compassion connections and invested interests.

India, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Guatemala, or last (but definitely not least)....

Haiti




When I returned home from Haiti in late January, I waited hopelessly for my phone to ring to hear the voice of my Compassion disaster relief team leader on the other end asking for me to return.

To no avail.

Someday I'll return. Hopefully as part of a team like the one Compassion put together this past winter.




And hopefully I'll be found just as useful.

I didn't think I'd end up in Haiti at the end of this blog. I guess my headline wasn't so off the wall afterall.

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