Beautiful

Finish this sentence: “What I’m really trying to say is…”

Our host said – “This’ll be an easy one!”

The reason I like this prompt is it can take you down a wormhole that you didn’t know you needed to travel. The reason I don’t like this prompt is the same.

Soooo I’m late to the party (which I’m actually co-hosting, eek!) because I over-thought and over-wrote and now…

Anyway, what I’m really trying to say (with this website and all of the writing that it generates) is: 

A few nights ago in Chicago we saw the new musical Beautiful. Beautiful relates the beginning of Carol King’s career/life as a singer/songwriter.

Now, to back up just a scoosh:

When asked about what we were going to do in Chicago, Marcus told people we were seeing the musical, Beautiful. Then he followed-up with “It’s about Carol King,” and then, “She’s good friends with James Taylor.” I think it’s interesting that this is what Marcus shared because it showed A) How he connects people together via friendship and B) Also how cool he is as a 25 year old who knows both Carol King and James Taylor’s work.

Anyway, we chose this show because it’s one we haven’t seen before and also because we thought Quinn would be interested in it too, as a musician and songwriter. The show began with the character of Carol King entering the stage with only a piano on the set. (We learn later this is to replicate her first performance at Carnegie Hall.) She begins by breaking the ice with a bit about herself and where she’s from. Then she tells the audience she didn’t always plan or even want to be a singer/songwriter, but sometimes life takes you to places you didn’t expect. (Now I’m going to paraphrase the lines as I remember it.)

Sometimes life takes you to a place you didn’t think you wanted, on a journey you never thought would be yours. Then…that life is beautiful.

So during this introduction my mind wandered to the parallel to having a child with Down syndrome and how true this is and that I should look up this exact quote so that I can share it on The Parent’s Guide to Down Syndrome website and Facebook page and because thoughts whip through the mind quicker than their explanation, I want to clarify that all this raced through mine before she finished the word “beautiful.”

Once the word beautiful finished from her lips, Marcus gestured to me with his thumb and leaned over.

He whispered to me, “You are. You are beautiful, Mom.”

Aw – C’mon! I mean seriously. Could there be a luckier, more blessed, momma in the room just then? At this point, I’m sitting there all teary and emotionally filled up and we’re only about 90 seconds into the show and I’m thinking, “This. Hold Onto This!”

Plus, could Marcus make the previous point any more clearly? I don’t think so.

So I guess what I’m really trying to say is what someone else already said, that whole journey and unexpected and beautiful wrapped up in a knot, thing. And the way I’m trying to say it is by sharing Marcus with you. Because, he’s really the one who says it, the most clearly, so many times.

Also, I’d like to say thanks for being here and reading and being open to sharing what he’s teaching me along the way.

For today’s bonus:

Check out what the rest of this awesome clan of bloggers really trying to say!

I’m going to head off now and get reading, too.

If you’re interested in the Loooonnnnggg version of what I wrote, In Which I Explain MardraSikora.com, click here.