Practically Perfect

It was around the ripe old age of 7 or 8 that I remember falling in love. And I'm not just talking about any old kind of love, I'm talking about the deep, abiding, passionate type.

It was a summer evening in Oregon and my older brother and I were giddy with excitement...or as my grandpa is wont to say, "cool as a summer's breeze." Sidenote: I never really understood what that meant until a few years ago. I believe I was loafing around in the library, pretending to study, when all of the sudden...BAM! It hit me! Summer breezes aren't cool at all! I didn't spend all of that time in the library for nothing!

We got all gussied up and climbed under the camper shell on the back of the good ol' Maz. (That little truck out lasted four teenage drivers. She sure was a champ!) With a couple of chair cushions to pad our bony little tooshies and separated from my dashing grandparents only by a sliding window, we felt as regal as if we had been riding in a limo. We were off to the theater!

My Fair Lady had come to town. And I was never the same.

I fascinated and awestruck by the beauty of the costumes, the music, the set, the dancing, the orchestra...the experience. It was there that I determined to add playing the flute to my "List of Things I Want to Learn." (Yes, I learned to play the flute.) My brother and I sang the songs for weeks and weeks. I walked around spouting a horrible rendition of a Cockney accent for days afterward, lucky for me I had the knobby knees and untamed hair to make my impression somewhat believable.

And I have had a love for the theater ever since.

So, you can imagine my "cool as a summer's breeze" excitement and anticipation as last Thursday rolled around.

Mary Poppins came to town! And, all of the sudden my Cockney accent was reawakened...at least in my own thoughts and daydreams. We made an evening of it and enjoyed some Thai cuisine before the show, and my lips, already plump full of Cockney excitement and syllables, couldn't handle the spiciness. The tingled and tingled, seeming to emanate the anticipation I was feeling within. (I went through a lot of water during that meal, let me tell you!)

The show was beyond my expectations. I was delighted and in awe to witness such abundant talent and dedication.

And again, I got to enjoy it with my grandparents. The evening was pratically perfect and I couldn't have asked for a better time.

On either occasion.