Last year on this day we were driving back to BC. Dale was in front with the SUV and the U-Haul trailer, I was following behind in my little red Bug. It was a joyful trip. Dale was heading to a dream job and I was heading home. Dale liked Alberta; as NASCAR loving, country music listening, good ol’ boy he felt at home there. However, I never did. Sure we met a lot of great people and had some wonderful times but I just never felt like I belonged. I am not conservative, politically or otherwise, and Alberta is very conservative. However, my stay there must have affected the collective, after all, they now have an NDP government! The closer we got to BC, the happier I got. A big part of that was we were going to be living in the Lower Mainland. We always dreamed about retiring here, and we dreamed big. A condo on or near Granville Island was what we thought would be heaven. Of course, we would have to win the lottery to make that happen, but we could always dream, right? So, the dream wasn’t quite coming true, but a townhouse just a short walk from historic downtown Poco is a good substitute. I still have a modicum of the walking lifestyle we sampled when we rented that very small apartment in the West End when we first came back last year.

I bring this up because Facebook reminded me of the event, which we captured digitally (I wanted to say “on film” because we took a picture but that isn’t accurate any more). I saw it when I checked my iPad this morning. It’s been a very slow morning because last night was the opening night of our Surrey Little Theatre production of  “Funny Little Thing Called Love”. It was also the Canadian premiere of this play, and one of the playwrights called the theatre and left a message for us. Apparently they have been following the theatre on social media. It was a surreal moment, listening to the playwright’s soft Georgian drawl. I had been reading my script, going over my lines, with my own version of an American southern accent. Her message was short but sweet and it motivated us to give the show our all, which we did. It was a great night! We had a responsive audience and we fed on that. When it was over and we were in the dressing room taking off our costumes, a newbie to the theatre commented that being on stage could be addictive. Yup, it can. There’s a rush of adrenaline when you first walk out on the stage and a feeling of power when you make the audience laugh, or cry. I can’t imagine my life without the theatre.

Today has been a rather slow day. It always is after a show, especially after opening night. I can’t sleep when I get home, I’m too wound up. I need some time to replay the show, to relish the things that went well and to think of how to fix the things that didn’t. I sit for a while, then I go to the bathtub and wash the show off. After that I sit for a while more. Now that Facebook is a thing, I check it to see what other people from the show are saying. Last night it was around 2:00 am when I finally closed my eyes. I’ve had breakfast but it’s after 11:00 and I’m still not dressed. Thankfully I can have a lazy day; many of the people in the show had to go to work today. In a while I’ll head upstairs and shower. Then I’ll fritter away the day until about 4:00, when I’ll put on my make-up and start gearing up. We have to be at the theatre by 6:30 but I’ll be there before that; part of my delightful OCD personality, I can’t bear to be late so I am invariably early.

I am happy to be back in BC. I am happy to be part of a wonderful community theatre family again. I am happy that I don’t have the pressures and stresses of a job to complicate my life; been there, done that, don’t want to do it again. I am a lucky woman. Believe me, I know that, and I celebrate it every day!