Leapin' through February!

In my experience, January lasts about a year, February lasts about an hour, and suddenly it's March. Yes, I realize February is the shortest month; still it's not that much shorter, and every four years it's not that much shorter at all. This is one of those years, yet here we are, at the end of February, and I barely remember anything about it. What exactly happened? What did I even do? I have a vague memory of the dredges of January and its never-ending cold but no Christmas and the feeling that it would never end. But suddenly, tomorrow is March. 

I guess a few things happened worth noting, so here goes.

Of course the very best thing that happened in February was our NYC trip, fully documented here. At least once a day, I say to myself "I'd really rather be in New York." This feeling will fade with time but never fully vanish. Until my next visit. I do love it there.

Valentine's Day passed without much frivolity; someone brought me two chocolate cupcakes, which I couldn't eat because of the 4 lbs. I gained in NYC that I was still working to lose. Eli and Amanda's daughter, Jane, made Valentines for everyone. Look how hard she worked:

The day after V. day, Shulamith's daughter Kennedy's had her dance company fireside, where she danced magnificently. Kennedy is so dedicated to her art, and it shows. 

And last week, Seth told me he was feeling like he hadn't seen anyone in a long time. He's only 20 minutes away, but he works lots, along with finishing his final semester at UVU. He'll graduate May 2nd, and I couldn't be any more excited than to celebrate our fifth and final college graduate! 

I told Seth that if he picked a night to drive up for dinner, I'd invite everyone, and hopefully at least a couple of the sibs would be able to come. But as it turned out, they all came, all the locals that is! It was such a fun evening to have all four of them together for no special reason other than to hang out and catch up. We stayed a long time. I felt extra blessed these people belong to me.

I just looked back at my post from Leap Day four years ago. It was so innocent. I taught a class. Walked two dogs. Met Shulamith for lunch at Cafe Rio. Ran an errand in Lehi. Took another walk. Bought groceries. 

Nothing out of the ordinary. 

Little did I know that the following month the world would shut down. A virus would cause a pandemic the proportions of which none of had ever experienced or expected. We would learn a new term: "social distance." We would stay home almost all the time. We would fear contact with others. We would worry about every cough, sneeze, or fever. We would worry especially over our elderly friends and family members. We would watch in horror as people died.

We would also learn a lot. We would learn to be grateful and to trust more. We would learn how resilient we are. We would learn how much our faith means to us, wherever it is centered. And though every one of us felt the trauma of that time, we also found our way through the trauma and began to heal. I expect we will never be quite the same as we were before COVID; hopefully what we learned will serve us and others well.

Happy Leap Day, everyone!

"You'll be back!"

My favorite song from the four shows we saw this past weekend was this one, sung by King George in the award-winning Hamilton. On our trip to NYC nearly two years ago, Hamilton was still way too expensive, at least for the seats I like, where I can see their sweat. This time, we were able to get tickets, and Oh. My. Goodness. There is a reason this show won so many awards. How does one person write the entire script, along with all the amazing song lyrics AND the music to create this incredible of piece of art, and then star as the lead when the show first opens? You would have to ask Lin-Manuel Miranda. I'm baffled by the degree of talent it would take to do all that, but grateful to Miranda for sharing that talent, so I could experience the story of Alexander Hamilton in such a genre as the Broadway stage. The show was pure delight from start to finish, especially the first time King George took the state to remind the American colonists how much he loves them:

You'll be back like before

I will fight the fight and win the war...

'Cause when push comes to shove,

I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love!

Second place goes to the song "One Day I'll Carry You Home" from The Notebook. Guys, we were literally there the second day of the show's Preview performances! Can you even believe that? It was so good, far better than the movie (and I loved the movie)! Three couples played the leads: younger Allie and Noah, middle Allie and Noah, and older Allie and Noah, and the way the director staged all of them to move fluidly among the years was nothing short of brilliant!

I've got a secret to tell

I'm falling in love with you.

And I know, nothing else matters

'Cause one day I'll carry you home.

The whole world might think we're crazy,

But one day I'll carry you to our home,

And one day you'll be my home.

Third place song is in the second act when Sweeny sings the reprise of "Johanna" to honor his daughter, who was taken from him as a baby, when he was unjustly exiled to Australia fifteen years earlier. We saw Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street between its Josh Groban/Annaleigh Ashford run and before the new cast to include Aaron Tveit and Sutton Foster. But be very clear: I can't imagine better performances than we witnessed from Nicholas Christopher (Sweeny) and Jeanna de Waal (Mrs. Leavitt) last weekend. They had been Groban's and Ashford's understudies up to that point, but they took that stage and owned it. I loved every second. 

I feel you, Johanna

I feel you

Do they think that vaults can hide you?

Even now I'm at your window.

I am in the dark beside you

Very sweetly in your yellow hair,

Johanna, Johanna.

Finally, fourth place song goes to "Shape of My Heart" from &Juliet. We bought tickets to the first three shows (above) before we left home, but decided to take a chance on last-minute bargains for our fourth and final show. As I stood in an enormous line at the Cheap Broadway Tickets booth, Shulamith decided to run around to various theatres to see if she could find us discounted tickets. She did (!) for the show &Juliet. We decided to chance it, and it turned out to be a great choice. Alongside three shows with serious themes, &Juliet was just pure fun! In a retelling of Shakespeare's original, Juliet decides not to kill herself over a boy she's known only a few days, and goes on to live her own life, following her own rules. Gotta love Shakespeare with a feminist twist. The show features covers from a variety of pop music, and "Shape of My Heart" was my favorite.

We were so excited to have Isaiah with us this time, and I believe we've successfully converted him to Broadway musicals. I'm shocked how much he likes them. In his words, "I can't stay here much longer. I have to drop $200 every day I'm here to see another show." He went with us to Hamilton, Sweeny, and &Juliet; then he had the nerve to stay one more day after we left and go see Merrily We Roll Along. We're very jealous.

We mostly ate bagels and watched shows the entire four days, though we did manage to work out at the hotel gym...

...and take a lovely walk in Central Park...(photo on top)

As always, both Shulamith and I grieved leaving NYC and the Broadway stage. It's just so hard to say goodbye. But I'm certain when King George sang "You'll Be Back," he was singing right to us. 

Yes, King George. We will indeed be back.