Progress on Yes

In the year of saying yes, I have signed onto my first Gay Pride Parade. I've always wanted to march in one and I intend to join with a women's group called Seacoast Sapphos from Southern Maine to march on June 18th in Portland. DP will be working so this will be a lone venture which makes it all the more scary.

A more recent yes I said today will be my first venture at being the Canter on Easter Sunday at our church. This is really scary, but I said yes because in truth, a fellow choir member will be cantering with me…or I'll be cantering with her actually. The St Matthews Episcopal Church Choir was one of the best yeses I made two years ago when I was more in the yes mode. This will be my first time cantering.

I very much enjoy singing sacred music and being a part of a choir. It's such a magical experience to participate in singing pieces that were written two, three sometimes over four hundred years ago. And they were written to be sung in the same manner we are singing them today. After each piece we sing, I say a silent little yes to myself.

I also said yes recently to taking a road trip up to a place known by native Mainers as "The County," which is Aroostook County to the rest of the world. This is a business trip for work this week. My boss and I leave Tuesday morning and will drive the four hours north on Interstate 95 to visit clients and prospective clients in two days. There'll be meetings, dressing up in suits, smiles, lots of handshakes and dinner with an overnight stay in Presque Isle. I'm going to try and post something for Wednesday morning "live from The County" but we'll see how exhausted I am and how coherent it'll be.

Saying yes takes a constant reminder to not say no. It’s surrendering those little fears I’ve carried with me for 49 years.