So, this weekend we closed our first show of the summer "My Fair Lady." Even though the show itself was a 3-hour-long trek for the past week and a half, it was a bittersweet moment when the show ended. As I said before, my roommate, Daniel, played the role of Freddy Eynsford-Hill. He did the most fantastic job ever and I could not think of anyone better to play the role. Well, I knew from Thursday night that the weekend would get a little emotional. Daniel let us know that his last night of sleeping in the apartment would be Thursday night. It was a little emotional as we thought we'd all have one more night together. But it was great to be with him. It was then that we all decided to get Daniel a little surprise. Spencer, R. J., and I decided to get him a card with a wonderful delicious treat. The card mind you was supposed to be funny. Where else to get a funny card than the "Troubled Relationship" section of the cards? Who knew that this section existed? I mean really, come on. Anyways it was pretty fun along with this delightful treat that you see pictured. It was great and Daniel really enjoyed the surprise that we all got for him. We then went about our weekends and performing the shows. Friday night was a little weird as Daniel's things were still in the apartment, but he was not. First night without Daniel and we all said to each other, "This bites." Of course, we would all get over it, but we all felt the need to acknowledge this fact. The part that got really emotional was when we closed the show on Saturday night. Like I said before, Daniel has been such a great presence while here at the Heritage Theatre Festival. Being able to open up about my faith with him, sharing great laughs, and many other times together has proved for one heck of a great experience. One little ritual a few of the cast members started before each show was to say a word of prayer before the performance began. Daniel would always invite me and it felt great to be in the presence of fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ. Saturday night's prayer was the most emotional of them all as it would be the last one. As we all joined hands for prayer, Daniel's squeeze was tighter than a normal hand hold. I knew that Daniel was feeling the same way I was about this being the last performance (and having to leave in a mere few hours). Christ was there with us, and luckily helped me from shedding a tear, and I think him as well. After the performance, we all took one last picture with Daniel and had to immediately get to work at tearing the production down. Walking away from the Greene Room and knowing that it would be a while before I saw Daniel again was difficult. I didn't shed a tear, but I felt like it. When someone, like Daniel, has such a positive impact on your life, it's always hard to say goodbye. Luckily I said, "See you later," because I know that I will run into him again at some point.
Work was none too difficult this weekend with a few small projects to get done. I would soon be ready to see my parents and hang out with them. We went to get some lunch (after driving around for 30 minutes) at a place called The Tavern. This place was Dad's choice, and once we were sitting down Mom and I were not too impressed. We ate and left all within about 30 minutes as well. The family then drove a little bit around Charlottesville and decided to head to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's estate. We had a great time, although we didn't go up to see the house since tickets were kind of an outrageous price. We went down to a little gift shop around a place called Michie's Tavern. I had my first Wine Tasting here. I learned some new things about the proper ways of drinking wine and am ready to put them to use.After we were done at Monticello, we headed back to my apartments. Mom and Dad said a goodbye and they were headed back home. I know that they are probably having fun, but also missing us kids because we are both away for the summer. I loved getting to see my parents and was happy the entire time to get another little taste of home.
This weekend was a roller coaster of emotions. I was feeling happy, sad, awkward, and content a lot. I know that I'm going to be feeling these emotions a lot as the next year goes on. I'm sure that I will be feeling a lot of unhappiness (not in a bad sort of way) and fear as I get ready to go out into the world and try to make a difference. The one thing to note is that I can always get by with a little help from my friends [and family] (Thanks Beatles!) no matter how far they are from me.
