Last night, I got to be part of the Crescendo Amelia Big Band “How the Big Band Stole Christmas” show in Fernandina Beach. I briefly unicycled in front of the stage during one of the songs and juggled in the lobby during the intermission. I also got to listen to the show from backstage and sit with the audience toward the end. As always, Crescendo Amelia and everyone else in the show did a spectacular job and I’m so glad I could be part of it. This was the first time I’d performed since I juggled at the previous Crescendo Amelia Big Band show at Theatre Jax earlier this month. Last night was also the first time I’ve performed with my unicycle. I thought it went quite well considering that I couldn’t unicycle at all this time last year and I’ve only gotten really good at it within the past few months.
On my way home from the show, I had a startling realization: I realized that it had been a while since I felt so good. Although I had a little anxiety on my way to the show, most it went away once I got there. I had a bit when I unicycled and a bit more later when I started juggling, but that was about it. The rest of the time, I felt fine talking to and being around other people. I enjoyed myself and felt calm, relaxed, and happy. That was such a nice contrast to how I’ve felt lately. I’ve been feeling stressed and down for much of this week. Some days I get quite stressed out at work and I often find myself feeling stressed even on my way to work. When things are going well, I tend to start wondering how long that’s going to last before things start going downhill. With all that in mind, last night’s show was a breath of fresh air. Getting out of my usual routines and being in a situation that was purely positive made me feel wonderful. Plus I had far fewer responsibilities than I do in other areas of my life. I just had to go out there, do my best, and have fun, and that’s exactly what I did.
I did my best at the show and felt like I didn’t let myself or anybody else down. Getting away from stressful, complicated situations and into simpler, nicer situations made me feel amazing last night and I still feel pretty good today. Also, even though I was super tired by the time I got home since I had been awake for almost 20 hours, I don’t remember feeling tired after performing or interacting with anybody. That was another nice change of pace as I’ve been feeling very drained from many of my interactions this week. Those are my takeaways thus far from last night and I’m going to keep thinking about it to see what else of value I can use in my regular life. This has the potential to do me a lot of good and I’m excited to see where it goes.