Cincinnati – Julie Anne Taylor

When Chris and I were dating, he took me to my first symphony. From that moment, I fell in love with all of it. I love Cincinnati Music Hall – such a beautiful setting, I love learning about the different composers and finding my favorite, and I love getting dressed up and enjoying this special date night. In the past eight years, we have attended countless CSO performances and have become subscribing members. This means we get to see thirteen shows a year. It has become my favorite date night activity, and we have shared so many memories.

Last night we went to OTR and enjoyed dinner before the show. (The Eagle has the BEST fried chicken – ever -sorry Grandma). The show last night was Rachmaninoff’s Concerto 3. I have learned over the past few years the style that I love the most, and I am drawn to Russian composers. Rachmaninoff is my absolute favorite – but I had never heard this particular concerto. Wow. It was the most beautiful piece of music I have ever heard. It literally brought me to tears. I was entranced and got lost in the music.

But the best part of the night, by far, had more to do with the man sitting next to us way up in the Gallery level of Music Hall. As we took our seats, I couldn’t help but notice the cutest little old man right next to us, holding a binder of music! He was looking through the pages and pages of the pieces that we would be hearing in the show. He spoke to Chris about his excitement over hearing the Aaron Copland piece that he had never heard live before. As we waited for the conductor to come on stage, the man was on the edge of his seat – literally sitting on the edge leaning over watching with the excitement of a child on Christmas morning. I could not stop watching him throughout the first piece of music. His smile was ear to ear and grew even bigger with each rising note. At the end of the first piece, “subito con forza” by Unsuk Chin, the man jumped to his feet and clapped with endless energy. He repeatedly yelled “Bravo” and cheered hard for all of the musicians. As the program continued, his excitement and praise for the musicians and conductor grew by leaps and bounds. I wasn’t sure he would even be able to remain in his seat as he listened to Copland’s Symphony No. 3. And he barely did. As the composition came to a thunderous conclusion, my new friend was once again instantly on his feet yelling “Bravo” and even “Amen.” Not just a couple times. I mean for the twenty minute standing ovation. He clapped. He smiled. He yelled. He was joyful. Pure joy. As much as I loved listening to the CSO’s flawless performance of my favorite composer, it didn’t compare to the joy I got from watching this man find so much joy and excitement from this evening. There is a lesson in here for all of us. Find the joy. Truly take in the good there is in this world. Don’t be afraid to share your joy. Get excited! I wish this man knew how much joy I got from watching his joy! I wish I could tell him thank you for the unexpected lessons I walked away with. I hope to carry the memory of this beautiful evening with me for a long time as a reminder to find the joy in all things. And to share that joy.

sidewalk chalk Today started out as a sad day. This may sound silly, but if you are from Cincinnati, you will get it. Today was supposed to have been Reds Opening Day. That means the streets of downtown should have been lined with fans for the Opening Day Parade. Today should have been celebrated as a holiday – as is always the case for the start of baseball season here. When I was finally awake enough to look at my bullet journal and realize all of this, the tears came. I just felt so sad. So many things we are missing out on.

But then, I stepped outside and felt the day warming, saw the sun greeting me with its bright yellow smile, and my mood began to lift. And rather than being sad about all the things we are going without, I fixed my thoughts on all the positives that are coming about as a result of our forced confinement.

Sidewalk chalk. Four of my five kids are here at home. All day. Every day. While that can be a bit chaotic (and by a bit I mean a lot at times), it also is time that we would never actually take for ourselves. Never have all four of my daughters and I spent over an hour in the sunshine creating with sidewalk chalk. Being that they range in age from 7 years old to 19 years old, we just rarely spend time doing activities together (stop judging – just being real). But today, we did! We laughed and worked together and created something we were proud of. We were happy.

Later, my oldest daughter, Cart, and I took a walk through the neighborhood. If you have a teenage daughter, you understand that any time at all you get to spend with her is amazing…so my momma heart was happy. We took selfies, we shared songs, we talked. And as we walked I noticed so many positives all around us. At the end of driveways throughout our subdivision, there were notes of encouragement written in chalk. Smiley faces, hearts, and phrases. Each one brought a smile to my face. And the more and more we saw, the bigger my smile got, and the more my mood lifted. Families worked together in the yard. The smell of fresh grass wafted through the air. Children played in yards, rode bikes, climbed on swing sets while their parents lounged on freshly cleaned patio furniture and watched.

This virus is awful and the havoc it is wreaking on our world is devastating. But there is a flip side to all of the negative. The world is slowing down. People are slowing down. We are talking. Playing games. Putting puzzles together. Creating art and music. It’s almost like this virus has reminded us about who we are as humans.

Sitting here typing I have tears flowing down my cheeks. (I’m a complete sap these days!) (Ok – not just these days…I’m a complete sap all of the time). If you stop and look, slow down and listen, you will find the beauty in all of the chaos. We will all look back on this time of our lives and will be filled with the memories we made when the world made us all stop.

What memories are you making today?

Tag: Cincinnati

Forced confinement