The good the bad and the REALLY ugly....


Aside from the stress of having a issues at work to deal with on Monday and knowing I was going to give a vocal performance in front of our church congregation on Sunday, I had a great weekend. Clare's Saturday morning basketball game was typical... moments of near greatness combined with lots of non-interest in being on a basketball court. At one point one of the other moms walked into the gym carrying snacks for after the game. And as her teammates ran back to get on defense, Clare's head was locked on the Capri Sun and cracker boxes. All alone on one end of the court, she was all about the snacks. "Clare!!!!" finally got her back into the game.. .sort of.
We also had a great rehearsal at church Saturday afternoon and then the monthly movie night there, which was "Amazing Grace" this month. It's about William Wilberforce, the brit who just about singlehandedly brought about the abolition of the slave trade in Great Britain. His friend and former slaveowner wrote the song "Amazing Grace" after confessing his sins and trying to exorcise the demons of "20,000 ghosts" that followed him after hauling that many slaves on his watch. It was a pretty powerful movie, and it's always fun to have a group to discuss the movie with afterward.
Sunday morning it was showtime, and my stomach was in knots. I've had this idea to perform "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" with a choir backup for some time now, and no matter how many times I filled my car with the melody to and from work, that didn't alleviate the jitters before Church Sunday. In the end, (I'm told) it sounded great, and having the choir behind me was a fantastic experience. They sounded great, just like I had been hearing in my head for a few months. Granted, my voice doesn't sound nearly as much like Bono's when the CD isn't playing in the car, but I was happy with how it went. Even some of the more "senior" members of the congregation told me how much they enjoyed it, which was really satisfying.
Last week, when i was telling Ann about getting ready for it and scheduling rehearsals, she at one point said "So, you really feel called to do this?" Indeed. And it was that spirit I think that ran through me Sunday morning and allowed me to sing not to the congregation, but to give something back to God.
What's the ugly you ask?
At least we have another home game coming up. I just can't even believe they had such a horrible showing, in Iowa no less. Thanks... just what I needed before leaving for Texas to see my sister in law and her family, all Iowa grads. Crap.