One of my greatest achievements and memories doing this wonderful work that feeds my soul every day...in my 14th year now full-time and it NEVER gets old!
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Remember me telling you about this story that I caught by accident one day, randomly turning on the TV after coming home from a gig? It was on the Garvin Thomas NBC Bay Area news program, about a couple married 72 years that never had a real wedding, because the husband had to rush off to war? And that the activity director of their retirement community decided to throw them an actual wedding, with all the bells and whistles, but there was no music?
I was so moved by their story that I moved heaven and earth to make that part happen for them, and on Wednesday, I got to devote an entire performance to their story in front of all their friends via songs and interaction with them. Since they didn't have a favorite love song, I declared " As Time Goes By" as their first dance, someone assisted them safely to get up, and they held each other and danced to their new official wedding song. They held hands and looked into each other's eyes, and sang to each other throughout the whole show. Even to my original song "When My Eyes Met You", which re-invented itself as if I wrote it just for them at that moment.
The whole experience was one of the greatest moments of my life. A moment I had to pay attention to when it arose, and do whatever it took to grab it. It was not handed to me tied up in a bow, I had to create it. Those moments you reach for are the greatest ones of all, because when they do happen, they are SO worth it.
You just can't begin to imagine what this felt like. They were both two of the sweetest, cutest folks I have ever met - 90 and 94 yrs old and still spry and totally in love. All I am waiting for are the pictures the activity director took, but I couldn't wait to share them with all of my FB peeps. I know some of you love this stuff, and it warms my heart to know that. I even got a call from Mira yesterday asking for my address so they could send me a thank-you note. A thank you note! All that and "Dear Abby" manners too?! Sometimes I have to pinch myself to remember this is my life. Seriously.