Reflections of the past three months

As I sat all alone in the airport hotel waiting for my breakfast, I had some time to reflect on the last three months. When my husband and I talked about this job, I was trying hard to convince him it would be fun. He wanted to stay home, and I wanted to go out on the open road.  “It’s only three months; you can do almost anything for three months.” That was my logic in trying to convince him to say yes.  He eventually said yes, we packed our bags and headed to New London Connecticut on September 10th.

Now looking into my cup of coffee, I realize that I have crammed a lifetime of memories and experiences into three short months. Here are just a few highlights.

• I traveled over 25,000 miles, more than 60 cities, over 30 states and two countries, in a tour bus with 11 newly adopted chickens.  I learned so many things from my cast, and they are people who have a permanent place in my heart.  Each one of them is special to me in their own way, and I will forever be impressed by their kindness, genuineness, and talent.
• With over 85 shows under my belt, if I never see another ice pack again that will be too soon.  There were So. Many. Ice. Packs.
• Explaining to my cast, on an almost daily basis, that getting a puppy for our bus was a horrible idea.
• The hours of conversation with cast members about Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, love, and hope.
• I survived one right-wing, conservative Republican bus driver who made fantastic coffee.  The coffee was so good that there were mornings where I would endure FOX News while I waited on the coffee pot.
• The conversation with my bus as we prepared to enter Canada and explaining why you couldn’t bring pot candies into Canada AND how it wasn’t a good idea to eat them instead of throwing them out before the border crossing.
• So many crazy venue runners, from ones that offered to take me to dinner, to ones living in their runner vans.  There was even one who wanted me to run away with him.
• So many haunted theaters. Some I survived, some I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to survive.
• I got to watch love blossom and grow. It reminded me that love always wins.
• I got to see most all of my immediate family and a lot of my extended family.
• There was the sadness that the death of Merch driver brought (you can read about that here)
• I missed my own chickens on a daily basis and can’t wait to be home to squeeze their faces.
• I got to enter the phase of life that brings hot flashes, and those are no joke! I was incredibly grateful for the cold Canadian venues.
• The new friends that I got to make and the lucky and happy coincidence that several of them live in Nashville.

All in all, it was a really great three months.  I’m happy to be heading home where I plan to retire, even if that is just in my head.  If you need me, I will be on my couch, in my pajamas, coffee in hand, watching the Nashville skyline.