Nashville With a Big Red Bow

Through my life, I see how much I'm blessed. It's daily. But sometimes the gifts come in a little bit bigger of a package than normal. Some would call the gifts luck or random: but I would disagree. I would call the Giver who gives the gift--wise. One who knows just when to give a little something extra.

On October 4th I made my journey to Nashville, TN. My first stop was my living quarters: the house of my host family. The door opened and I was greeted by two amazing people: Jeff and Cindy Loring, not to mention a homemade soup accompanied with fruit, cheese and crackers. From the moment I stepped in their door I was instant family and was going to be taken care of for three weeks except that "taken care of" is such an understatement of how they really treated me. I felt like royalty. We ate many meals together, had many conversations, hit the town, watched Antique Roadshow and Dancing With the Stars on regular occasion, laughed, and just got to rest in one another's presence. I spent many hours swinging on their porchswing, playing the guitar, basking in the sun, watching the little puppies have there outdoor activity time and just being.

The next door I stepped through was to the home of my Hello Dolly cast. We can call them my second Nashville family. How precious they all turned out to be. From the start I was received with such warmth and kindness. As I think on each cast family member such fond memories surface: Ashley doing her lazy eye Minnie Fay: Michael talking about prostitutes in the aisle during the middle of a show; Carrie making me belly laugh on many occasions; Graham taking my First Call lyric quizzes; Bonnie just sitting down and having good conversation; Nan giving the best hugs ever; Kirk being my downtown Nashville pal; Katie proving her true title of the karaoke queen; Maggie tying my apron before each show; and the list could go on and on. I find myself smiling now after making that list. But it was so good. It was a show I was so proud of, a character I really felt true in portraying, and a performance I wanted the world to see.

The city of Nashville was such an amazing place: the food, the people--it is a city that is warm and homey. Everyday before the show I would either visit Frothy Monkey or Bongo Java for a pumpkin muffin and a coffee of sorts. I looked forward to it. I looked forward to every day and would hate when my current day would have to end. I feel like I had so much to do, so much to see, so much to share with other people. Three weeks was not enough.

Tokyo, Japan is a place I never dreamed I would have lived. To be honest Asia is a destination that would have never been on my "to visit" list. But I was blindsided by a wise gift. I remember my very last day at Tokyo Disney, I walked behind my outdoor theatre and I looked up in the sky and told the Lord, "You just gave me a gift with a really big red bow on it." My last performance of Hello Dolly, before the show started, I returned to that same outdoor alter, looked up at the sky and repeated the prayer that came out of my heart just years before, "You just gave me gift with a really big bow on it." The Giver did. And I'm so grateful.