Well, well, well. I’ve spent about 8 years telling you how I love and adore every single thing about B, my high school theater teacher. Did you think she wouldn’t be one of the first people I interviewed? How would that possibly be possible?
I had the great joy of spending hours on the phone with one of the most fascinating people on the planet. And I feel so very lucky.
Some of the interesting takeaways for me were
- She’s a musician! I can’t believe I didn’t know that after all these years. I knew she’s been an accomplished dancer, and of course dancers are extremely musical. But she also plays multiple instruments! She plays piano and clarinet. She even played in the marching band! And her mom was a music teacher!
- Her dad was a scientist, and now it makes even more sense how her oldest daughter is both an accomplished ballet dancer and a graduate in science from an Ivy League school – it all runs in the family.
- She worked at a prison between undergrad and grad school! (What?!)
- She described raising a family as “hypnotic,” which I found extremely endearing.
- She said that she basically kind of just followed life as it was presented to her – that there were a bunch of different twists and turns she never saw coming, and she loved every one.
And when I asked the question I asked everyone – which is what’s the point of life, her answer was: to make the most of what we’ve got, and to be grateful for it – to spread positive energy, accept change, make the most of it all as you go along, live in the moment, and most importantly – always *love the moment you’re in* right this second.
Then, of course, as was so fitting for her, she tied it all together with a theater reference and told me how much she loved Our Town and the idea of honoring the small moments in our lives.