Memories and More

Yesterday evening, I made one more step towards finishing my documentary. I made a visit to Jan's house, and she allowed me to pick out some photographs of Dan and her mother to use in the film. It was a lovely time, as the moment Jan opened up a photo album, memories came gushing out of her! And such wonderful memories they were: Her mother as a young woman, Jan as a cute five-year-old, the weekend Dan proposed, bad hairdos of the ages, Dan and Jan's wedding day, Jan and Dan drunk in Italy, the birth of Jan and Dan's daughter, and the summer before Dan died. Jan spoke on each topic with excitement and nostalgia, even reveling in the most embarrassing photos of herself with giddy pleasure and wonder. She had so many stories. And I wish I could have stayed to hear them all. When Robert(who accompanied me on the visit) and I finally became conscious of the time, we realized we had been with Jan for over three hours! What a lovely way to end the weekend!

This morning, a canceled 8:30am session with a private yoga client left me extra time to spend at the studio, which was most needed. Just yesterday, I was asked to perform at a dinner theater benefit in Mount Airy tomorrow night! The benefit is for a woman who has just had major surgery, but does not have health insurance. The hope is that this benefit will significantly drop the amount of money this woman owes to the health care system. I simply could not turn down the offer. I can't imagine having to go through an ordeal like that. Being sick, stressed and strapped for cash does not sound like my idea of the American Dream. As an artist, it is always my hope that I can use my talents to help others, and sure enough, opportunities seem to always present themselves. I have decided to do an excerpt from my play,"Lost and Found." I thought it too short notice to ask the percussionist in the piece to join me in the performance, as he is in school and last minute events can be hard for him to commit to. So, I rehearsed today by myself, making a few changes to the material to make it work for just one person. I am excited to be revisiting the material again, after a few short months of being away from it.

In other news, I have received word that my dance film, "Two Downtown," has been selected for a dance for camera showing this Friday in Ogden, Utah at Weber University. This afternoon, I sent of two data disks to the festival, as many festivals do not like to show DVD's. They are difficult sometimes. I felt the notice was a little late, given that they desire the files before Friday, and I got word just Saturday that our film had been chosen. However, I am overjoyed that we have two film festivals on the docket so far(the Indie Grits Festival in SC being the other one), and I said, as I was applying the film to all the festivals, that I would be ecstatic to get just one festival. Maybe we'll get three, then I'll be SUPER excited! And I have to say, I have had mixed feelings about this particular film. But perhaps my feelings are unfounded. Obviously, someone likes it.

To round out my day today, I distributed posters for the River Run Film Festival in the beautiful weather, and I ended my day by giving a beautiful yoga class. We did a very slow, contemplative flow with keen focus on the breath and moving through transitions between poses with mindfulness. Tomorrow, I am back teaching at HPU after their spring break. I hope the students have remembered all of their material. And I must remember to gear up for the coming month, which will be wrought with summer fever. It happens every year...everyone just wants to go on vacation! The home stretch is always the hardest, and I have to admit, I am often guilty of having similar sentiments! Summer is always good to me, and this one is extra special...because my wedding is this summer! I can't wait!

~Cara