Out on the Town

A couple of weeks ago, I gathered with some of my Cristo Rey friends for a long overdue dinner. Out at a restaurant and everything! (I'm at the point in my Covid-precaution life where I have decided to trust the vaccines. This latest variant is everywhere, but my friends who have gotten it are all coming through it all right. It's still not fun, but I can't stay home forever.) As we were finishing up a delicious meal, the restaurant owner came over and offered us four tickets to a play at Starlight, the local outdoor theater, the next week. No strings attached. 

It took us a minute to realize what he was offering, but once we did, we quickly took him up on his offer. Two of us couldn't go, but I was happy to take two of the tickets - it's been a long time since I've been to the theater. When I got home, I invited my friend Gayla to go with me - she was also happy to jump on the bandwagon.

Wednesday came, and I got all dolled up for the occasion. She arrived right on time to pick me up, and off to the show we went. We paid for parking, got out of the car, and headed for the gates. I reached for my purse to get the tickets, and stopped short.

Tickets. 

"Aw, sh**!"

It's been a LONG time since I had paper tickets for anything, and I had completely forgotten to pick them up off the dining room table where I'd left them earlier in the day so I would be sure to remember them.

I don't know about you all, but I have anxiety dreams about this sort of thing all the time. I just USUALLY manage to avoid having them come true in real life.

Gayla gave me a concerned look when I stopped and 'fessed up. 
"You're kidding." 
"Nope, I'm not."

With matching large sighs, we turned around to go back to the car to go back to my house to get the tickets. I felt awful. She, bless her heart, took the whole thing in stride. We'd purposely gotten to the venue early, so we could catch up on each other's lives while we ate dinner there before the show. Thank goodness for that, because it turned the whole situation into a nothing-burger.

We didn't get to talk as much as we'd hoped because of all the driving, but we still got in some good conversation. I don't live THAT far from the theater, so we had time, even with the extra trip, to enjoy our dinner; albeit not at the leisurely pace we'd planned. 

The show, Sister Act, was fun! I laughed out loud! And, I really liked the part where I got to be in the same place with other people who were also clearly enjoying the show. (Group energy! I've missed group energy...)

The evening was a good reminder for me. A reminder there are generous people in the world, like the restaurant owner, who are willing to give something for nothing. A reminder that I can mess up big time, and not have it ruin the entire evening because there are people like Gayla who will go with the flow, and adjust as needed, and not even be mad at me. *whew*

Good Is!