Hello, Peeps. I'm Miss Chicken Wing. You might remember me as someone who used to write regularly on this blog. No, I haven't been kidnapped. I've had so much going on in my life recently, and I am so excited to tell you guys all about it! I apologize that it's taken me this long to get back to the happy place that is my blog, but sometimes a little vacation is necessary, you know? Not to mention, I have just gotten started planning what is sure to be one of the very best days of my life so far - the day I get to marry Comanche! People who have been there know how busy that can be!
Getting engaged is not the only new and awesome thing that I count in my blessings list, though! Hold on to your hats, y'all - there's more! The first thing I want to catch you all up on gets its own post on the blog, and is something that I'm now allowed to go public with! I recently got a PROMOTION!!!!! WOO TO THE HOO!!!!!!
Pause for a moment - who doesn't love Ron Burgundy, right?!?! Okay, back to the actual subject matter. I am so excited because it's really a step in the right direction as far as my career goes, and I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to grow within my amazing company.
For those who know me, they know how protective I am about my job(s) and my company - I will go to the mat any day for the people I work for and with. I am so blessed to be a part of such an amazing organization, and I genuinely work with some of the best people I know. Other people may make more money or have fancier offices, but I can guarantee that most people can't say that they like everyone they work with. I can, and that's a big deal to me.
So, while I've been away from the blog, I have been working on the transition between my current position and my new one. In my new position, I will have an even greater chance to help people, which is my passion, after all. It's a little scary jumping into the somewhat unknown, but I've found that most of the things in my life that have scared me have ended up being the ones most worth it.
I went back and forth over whether to show this video or not, but I wanted to give you a visual if you've not yet seen it in order to further the tenacity of your prayers for the victims and families of the victims of this horrific accident! {WARNING: THIS VIDEO IS VERY HARD TO WATCH.}
I'm not sure if you've heard of this yet, but tragedy struck the Sugarland concert at the Indiana State Fair this weekend when 60mph winds took down the stage, killing at least four people and injuring at least forty others. I ask you to put these people on your prayer lists and to lift them up.
Heavenly Father, please hold each and every person affected by this horrific accident in Your hands and lift them up during this very difficult time. In Your Name, I pray. Amen.
There are many ways that people deal with times when they are tested. Some people get mad, some people get sad, some people turn to friends, some have a favorite song, and some have a quote or motto - a mantra, that when uttered, changes their perspective.
As for me, I'm in the last group. I have a mantra. It comes from my absolute favorite Broadway production, the everlasting goodness that is RENT.
You can catch this production "off-Broadway" or you can rent/buy the movie, which features an all-star cast. I saw this production for the first time when I was a junior in high school. I was privileged enough to be accepted into Governor's School (a supplement to high school that truly changed my life personally in addition to academically). My G-School (as we called it) junior year field trip was to New York City, a dream of mine to begin with. When we all went to the actual Broadway, we didn't know what we were getting into with RENT.
I wish you could have seen our faces when we realized the depth and the meaning beautifully framed by the entertainment that the actors and actresses gave to us. There were tears, there were laughs, there were mostly smiles - we had all been touched, and I don't think a single one of us expected that reaction at all.
So, since that day, I've had a relationship with RENT. When the movie came out, I went to see it, and something surprising happened - I wasn't disappointed! I was ecstatic! Then, years passed. I got invited by a friend to see a local theatre's production of RENT. Mr. Chicken Wing (after I had forced him to watch the movie with me and he had decided on his own that he LOVED it) decided to come with me, and we made a date night out of it. I thought that there was no way our little city could produce the caliber of talent that I'd seen both through the Broadway production and the film. Boy, was I ever wrong. I got teary-eyed, I sang along, and Mr. Chicken Wing was equally blown away.
The cool thing about RENT is that not only does it touch the people who are watching - but it deeply affects the actors/actresses that step up to the plate and try to do the production justice. They have so much respect for the work that it's not even an option - they have to be great. And I think one thing that seeing this local production taught me was that it's not about the production as much as it is about RENT. The show is just that good, that profound, and that meaningful.
If you haven't seen it, I would highly suggest you do. I hope it changes your life as much as it did mine. I will forewarn you that it does touch on issues that people are still sensitive about today, so if you aren't open-minded, it might not do as much for you as for me. But, the songs, the characters, and the topics that this work touches on will stick with me forever.
I guess all that's left to do is to introduce you to the four words from RENT that changed the way I live my life.
Are you ready?
"No Day But Today." - RENT
That's it. And so you can get a sense of what those words mean in the movie (as they don't have workable footage of the Broadway production that I know of), I've included the last clip from the movie, when all the friends come together and remember what's important - each other, and life.
What's really awesome is that several of the actors and actresses in the movie were also in the Broadway production! (Some of you reading this blog may know that!) :)
So there it is: you have to live your life like there is no day but today. Don't wait to tell those around you that you love them. Don't get so caught up in the stresses of life that you don't enjoy life. Don't take the ones you love for granted. I know all too well that they won't always be around, and you have to cherish whatever time you get to have with them. Don't wait until tomorrow to start that project you've been wanting to do. Send your Christmas cards now. Stop and bake a cake with your family. Take your dogs outside and go wild! LOVE while you have the time. Make a difference. NO DAY BUT TODAY.
I'm just a girl, out in the real world trying to figure out who and what I want to be! As of right now, I don't completely know either of those things, but what I do know is that I have been blessed with the most AMAZING fiance, family, and friends in the entire world, and this blog is for them as much as it's for myself!
