To the Woman in the Green Tights

I once had an elderly woman come up to me after a show I did, and yell at me that I was wearing black.

Why are you wearing black?

Black is for widows. Black is for mourning. You're so young - you should be wearing something in color!

I chuckled.

I own more pieces of black clothing than I can count. My entire wardrobe, the majority of my accessories and shoe collection is, in fact, black.

My students are often jarred when I don't wear black - it doesn't seem natural, they'll say. And so, I stick with my black.

. . . 

Schuyler and I went on a date night this week. We went to a little speak easy in the middle of Manhattan, and watched an outstanding band play music, and sipped fancy drinks that were far too expensive. 

And there, amidst the crowd, was this woman wearing green tights. I'm talking Elphaba green here, folks. Like, really, really green. They matched the pattern of her dress, but for some reason I couldn't stop staring at the green.

(I know this seems insane to be writing about these green tights, so I'm going to take this moment to remind you about my black wardrobe.)

ANYWAY, after I pulled myself away from the tights, I looked at the woman herself - she was dancing. Standing there with her date, swaying to the music, bopping to the beat, she was the living embodiment of that cheesy quote - dance like nobody is watching. 

It was phenomenal.

And then I thought of that little lady that told me I wear too much black, and as the green tights whizzed in front of me, I'm wondering if perhaps that little old woman was right.

In the past two weeks I've learned of three different friends who've lost people they love. Young men who had wives and children and families that assumed they'd be around for awhile.

And now they're not.

Now the promises of tomorrow and dreams of the days to come have gone for good - and all the wishes and love will never bring them back.

And I wonder, what will it take for us to stop and slow down and appreciate the minutes that lay before us?

Too often we overlook tiny moments of joy in anticipation of something bigger and better. But really, life is lived in the moments of in-between. 

Life can change in an instant, and perhaps we need to spend more time celebrating the in-between. Perhaps it's a date night watching live music with the one you love, perhaps it's sitting curled on your couch watching your favorite TV show.

Perhaps it's a pair of green tights.

Whatever it is - I hope you find it, I hope you cherish it, I hope you treasure those in-betweens, for life is just too short.