When I was in high school, I stumbled upon drama and theater. The memories I made from being part of the plays and musicals will always be some of my very favorite. I loved every minute of being part of the alternate lifestyle of the characters I played.
If you asked my family, they might add that I've always had a flair for the dramatic. Learning to be someone completely different than who I really am was a fantastic escape from the pressures of my real life.
We spent countless hours rehearsing for our big show. We went over and over our lines and our songs until it was time for opening night. The lights went out, the curtains went up, and the show went on. We spent months preparing for something amazing that we knew would be over in three short nights.
But we did it anyway.
We knew it wouldn't last. We knew all that we put into making that show perfect wouldn't be around forever, but we did it anyway. When the show was over, the props and scenery were put away. The make-up we wore came off and the costumes were hung up for the next show. The curtains came down and the lights went up.
That was it.
What once was a crowded room full of people, laughter and tears was now an empty space filled with silence. If you closed your eyes and listened hard enough, you could see it all happening in your mind. The show was over, but the memories and the feelings would go on forever. I'm so thankful for those memories.
After we lost Grandpa last fall, Granny made the decision to live in a facility. This meant that mom and her brother were left with the exhausting job of going through their parent's belongings and preparing the house to sell.
This has been an emotionally taxing experience for all of us. I won't tell all of the details as some things you just have to experience for yourself. What I will share is how I thought this was very similar to my memories of being in theater.
We've spent countless hours in the home of my grandparents. We were lucky enough to have my Grandpa for 95 years and my Granny is still with us. We are a family that spent EVERY holiday together and I mean that. We had wonderful dinners, birthday parties, anniversaries, and more in that very house. We gathered as a family and spent time together more often than not.
As our family has worked to prepare the house to sell, we find ourselves closing the curtain on this show. We are putting away the props and scenery, taking off the make-up, hanging up the costumes. And what an amazing show it has been. There has been more laughter than I can explain and more tears than I want to remember.
We knew it would come to an end. It always does. Yet...if given the chance to live every minute of it over again, we would. Without a doubt, we would.
It is my hope as we all move in the direction of new traditions, that we create a "show" as great as the one we've lived with our amazing grandparents and their adventures. We've learned more from them and from being together than I fully understand and I pray I can give that to my own family.
As the belongings are auctioned off, our hearts hurt. As the house sells to another family, we are sad. We know the beauty that house has to offer its new owner and we hope they can feel the love upon entering. The curtains are going down for the last time. But if we close our eyes and listen hard enough, we can see it all happening in our memories.
Living this out with these people has been the best role of my life. I'm so thankful I was selected to be in this show. And as they say in show business, the show must go on. So on we go.
Amy
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💚💚💚
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