A Part of Something Bigger

Meaghan recently posted about her half marathon and what inspired her while running and linked to a video of the Black Eyed Peas performing in Chicago. The video is pretty cool and the tie in to Meaghan was the idea of being a part of something much bigger. Check it out: Black Eyed Peas Chicago

I’ve heard the song several times since and it had me thinking, some of the most memorable, happy and proud moments of my life have been when I was merely a fraction of something so much bigger than myself. For instance:

• Member of the Dover Drive Kazoo Band – (one yearly performance – the Fourth of July Parade)
• One third of the Three Musketeers (school would not have been the same without Susan and Liz)
• Make-up “artist” for THS performance of Bye Bye Birdie and Bull in a China Shop
• Indian Girl and Singing Teenager in the THS performance of The Music Man
• Back stage wardrobe/seamstress assistant for the off Broadway traveling performances of Sound of Music and Gypsy – for Gypsy I remained back stage for the entire show and assisted the lead actress with her quick costume changes in the wings.
• Official time keeper and crew member of Sundial Racing
• Nailing our performance with my fellow color guard members at Vanderbilt Stadium
• And Band…I still get little chills whenever I hear the Robin Hood soundtrack and remember how the clarinet part complimented the French horns, trombones and trumpets. Plus, I’ll never be able to hear Sleigh Bells without thinking about the band.
• Being a very very small, but integral, part of CPS and helping three biracial siblings be adopted by the same family (a rarity for sure) and assisting a father, who had made his fair share of mistakes, get his children back once he had turned his life around.
• Experiencing one of Meg’s triathlons and then participating in my first triathlon – thousands of women swimming, riding and running their hearts out together, encouraging and helping each other accomplish their goals. The goodwill in the air was tangible and heartwarming and the personal sense of accomplishment was certainly heightened with the sharing of it.

I’ve been honored to witness grandness too. Such as:

• Wedding ceremonies of loved ones, friends and total strangers (Pope John Paul II conduct a mass wedding ceremony in Piazza San Pietro at St. Peter’s Church in Rome)
• The Aids Quilt…there are no words
• The Coliseum and the city of Pompeii
• The Sistine Chapel – there is something about standing under that amazing work of art where hundreds of thousands of people had stood before me, humbled.
• Random acts of kindness - there’s really nothing better to see

When I was very young I wanted to be a movie star. I wanted the fame and excitement and attention. Then, as I got a little bit older, those same things scared me, especially the attention. In the end I think I got exactly what I needed. I have been the star of my own life in all the important moments, like my wedding day when family, friends and total strangers witnessed, took pictures and even videos of John and I exchanging our vows. Like the birth of my three children. Those moments of stardom will always be cherished, but there is something magical about people coming together to create, perform, build, accomplish and share. It’s those moments that inspire me and make me content to play a minor role or simply watch and cheer from the sidelines.