I Don't FEEL Tardy

Last night, Fuzzy and I went to a taping of Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me, a nationally syndicated news/quiz/entertainment show. Growing up, we had a weekend ritual--Dad would get up and start making breakfast, I would get in Dad's spot in Mom and Dad's bed and Mom and I would read the paper (I would just read the funnies and the Parade if it was a Sunday), and eventually Christopher would get up, and he would just lay across the foot of the bed for a while. When breakfast and coffee were ready, Dad would bring it to us and we would all eat and talk and laugh. A lot of the time, we'd listen to Car Talk or What'dya Know on PRM. All that being said, when we got the tickets to Wait Wait, I of course thought about how much Dad would love that I was seeing a live taping of an NPR show, and I wish he was still around so I could take him to see it. As we went in to the theatre, the preshow music was playing, and the first song we heard was Jethro Tull's Too Old to Rock N Roll. Now, come on, you can't tell me that that was a coincidence. Jethro Tull is too much a part of the Reid history for me to shrug that off. I had to fight tears, but it made me so happy to know that my Dad was there with me and happy.

The show was a lot of fun and hilarious, too. Plus, we got to catch up with some old friends that were there, too, as an added bonus. If you are in Chicago and free on a Thursday night, it is definitely worth checking out.

(Many special thanks to the lovely Don Hall for giving us the rockstar treatment at the show. It was wonderful!) (Also, that video to Too Old to Rock N Roll is my favorite of all the Tull videos. Christopher and I used to watch it over and over so much that we have every moment, teacup pass, jump, and facial expression memorized. Even now, so many years later, I don't have to watch the video to see the video. You know what I mean?)

Speaking of Dad, Fuzzy found an organization called the Colon Cancer Coalition, who is hosting a Get Your Rear In Gear 5K walk in Tinley Park on Sunday July 26th. We are going to walk in Dad's memory. I am so happy that we've found an organization that focuses on colorectal cancer, and I am excited to become a part of it. It will be an emotional walk, but I know it will be a great step in my healing. if anyone is interested in joining, we have room for 3 more in our car!

In my quest for self-help, enlightment, and the ability to process where I am now in my life, we've ordered two more books to read: Fatherless Women: How We Change After Losing Our Dads and Grieving Mental Illness: A Guide For Patients and Their Caregivers. They will both be tough reads, but I hope they will help.

Get up on this: my awesome and brilliant friend Margaret is now doing Second City walking tours that tell the history of Second City and alumni, as well as the beautiful Old Town neighborhood. Fuzzy and I are going to check one of these out as soon as we can!

So, I entered this contest, right, and I thank everyone who's been voting for me! There are 2 weeks left in the competition, and I am exhausted. Every day this week, I've been obsessing about votes and trying to stay in the lead and trying to win this $500 and maybe even $22,000 and it has been making me crazy. Then yesterday, the best thing happened...my direct competition pulled ahead of me in votes. I was devastated and upset. But then I realized how silly I was being--we are competing over a video of our CATS. The reason I avoid Facebook and Twitter is to avoid the insecurity that comes with the constant comparison to other people, and yet I willingly put myself into direct competition with someone else. So I am letting it go. Releasing it to the world. I've put so much pressure on my friends over the years with my stress, grief and drama, that the last thing I want to do is take advantage of them with a silly little contest. Is that all worth $500? No. If I win, then it was meant to be and I will be so happy and grateful. If the other woman wins, then I will be happy for her, too, cause she deserves it just as much as I do. And with 2 weeks left to go, it is anyone's game, and who knows, I might pull in the lead again. Cause who wouldn't want to vote for this precioushead:

And now, for funsies, here's one of the greatest rock songs and videos in the history of the world.

Have a great weekend!