July 6, 2017
Unbelievably, it had been over 20 years since one by one this group of gals migrated from the Windy City to LaLaLand. A reunion lunch was to take place in Atwater Village, which was fitting in perfectly, right after my inspections in Hollywood. Little did I know how grueling the traffic would be due to the Carnavale Parade - Crawling down Franklin from Western to Vermont took over an hour.
What could I do - there would be no honking in perfect jazz B-minor arpeggio. The ability to be patient and content while chaos swirls is a constant practice - but what else, if not patience, would create the clearing for me? Practice. Practice it now, I breathed deeply to myself. Patience and Victory is mine. All is well. All is well.
A unique bond is formed in College, especially in Theatre school. A certain level of intimacy becomes the symptom of the fever one runs when creating with others.
BUT, the city of lights and the desert winds sent us all in separate directions. Coming together for a check in becomes a much needed pit stop on our cycles of life. The last thing I wanted was to be late.
Finally arriving, nobody needed an apology or explanation. The confabulation was at a level of part hen house and part “This is Your Life” as we talked over each other, finished each others' sentences, hysterically reliving memories from the past and sharing our current heartbreaks, challenges and triumphs. Maybe it’s the profound gift of time that provides the perspective - but man, was I proud to be sitting there with such powerful, hard working, bad ass women. Ever changing & blossoming, some of us Mothers, some of us Wives, all of us Creators who were no longer dazzled by the idea of celebrity status but still committed to our self expression and artistry. The years gave me clear vision. As I regarded my old pals, I realized I was in the company of unquestionable fantastic talent, and absolute unstoppable warriors.
We said our goodbyes and roughly planned for the next visit, and as I drove away and back into the sea of traffic, a quiet confidence whispered silently to me - Keep practicing. Keep practicing. You got this.
