All I have to say about this year’s Mardi Gras parade is, Wow!
Okay, you knew I couldn’t just say, wow, and leave it at that. Wow! OMG! I still can’t believe how much fun that was! {Doing the funky chicken dance…} Okay, whew, calming down a little bit now.
We had a good time. Check that, we had a great time!
There’s nothing like spending time with your friends working toward a common goal. Even if the goal is something really weird like building a pirate ship on a trailer then dressing up in thrift store finds and running around clashing plastic swords with each other.
Until Sunday I didn’t realize how crappy the start of this year has been for me. Issues with my other job, a couple of unexpected deaths and some niggling family issues that just won’t go away have combined to bring me down in these dreary, rainy days that are typical for southeastern U.S. winter weather. And as usual I smile and soldier on employing the ‘fake it til you make it’ mentality until I’m so far into a trench I can’t see the sun anymore.
Mardi Gras was a good excuse to kick my hermitey self in the butt and get around friends. And no matter how sad or crappy I was feeling when I got to a work session, by the time I left, I was glad I went. My friends (new and old) always have a way of lifting my spirits just enough. Whether they’re feeding me tasks to do and leaving me alone or we’re all hauling on a rope to pull a mast upright, it helps.
And then seeing the finished product and getting to take our awesome, hard, and creative work and put it out on the street to entertain the masses. Seeing those little kids’ face’s light up at real, live pirates, it did something for me. Watching the delight wash over the adults when they realized we were for real and that ship wasn’t just cardboard and spit, but actual wood and nails and canvas. It cracked something open in my heart just a little bit.
And I think that’s what I’m trying to write about today. How getting out of my head and doing something with others and for others and just being open to letting life in instead of shutting everything out helps to start healing something I didn’t consciously realize was broken. Perhaps my instinct to shut down, hunker down and feed my turtle should be an indicator in the future that I need some time with friends. Perhaps…
Thank goodness for my crazy, artistic friends who envision these nutty things for us to do. I’m not sure what I would do without them. For sure this life would be a lot less fun.
P.S. – We won the trophy for 1st place for our float. Pictures over here, if you’re interested.
P.S.S. – Only two of my clients made a spectacle of themselves. Lucky them! I hope they’re not giving up massage for Lent…
♥
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