Some weeks ago I got a little break in the schedule and got to do something I wouldn’t have thought I’d enjoy. Turns out, it was great. I had a really fun, relaxing evening of entertainment with friends.

What was this magical thing?

I went to see a play.

My dear friend John had tickets to a local high school production of “My Favorite Year”. There was a moment when I stopped and questioned why my friend had tickets to a high school play in the area (and no kids in school), but then found we were going in support of a coworker’s kids. What the hell? I’m in.

We headed to the auditorium, grabbed our seats and got comfy. That’s when it really hit me – I actually missed that sort of thing. My kiddo is years out of high school at this point and there just aren’t any sort of events like this anymore. No school nights, no plays, no concerts, no games… all that is just over and done. God(s) help me, I actually had a bout of nostalgia and a real sense of loss.

Then there was the mess of a crowd getting out. All that nostalgia went away and I remembered all the pain in the ass parts. I had no connections of my own, no fellow parents to chat with, nor any of the ‘normal’ things associated with going to an event like that. The best possible thing for me was to get through the crowd and head out the doors. Easier said than done, but I managed.

I will say the kids in that production were great. The music, the dancing, the costumes were excellent. It was a great show. Start to finish, well done. If you can go and support the kids of your coworkers or friends, give it a shot!