The week started
with a bang on Monday morning as we began a very busy, jam packed few days to
get everything finalized and show ready! We had 6 long days, which went by
extremely fast to prepare for our opening show on Saturday night. As in every
other show I have been in, the week prior to the opening is always the most
intense, but you also improve the most in that final week. There is a certain
magic that is created as you all work towards one final goal. A magic that
cannot be described, but it is always there and despite how crazy everything seems,
it ALWAYS comes together and it did! We worked our behinds off right up until
two hours before the show and we put on an amazing performance! We managed to
smile all week despite the pain that our feet were feeling from wearing
character shoes for hours upon hours each day!
The house was packed with a wonderful
audience full of host families, real families, UWP alumni and the international
board of UWP. We had FSC students and faculty and we even had all the kids from
the Florida Baptist Children’s Home where we did community service last week.
The crowd loved it and we drew tears of happiness and compassion. Not only was
I was so happy to finally be performing but also the songs and words we were
saying were so powerful, moving and inspiring. I felt so lucky to be a part of
such an incredible show. The whole cast is so excited to leave on the road
tomorrow and share our music with everyone
we can! After the show I helped to strike the stage – hard work, but
many hands make light work so we got done under two hours. Crazy how it takes
so long to prepare the show and takes such little time to take it all down just
to put it back up again in a week in Fort Myers FL!! YAY!
It was a rather laid back week at the host family home
front. We came home each night more and more exhausted, but Kevin and Maureen
were as sweet as ever, making sure we had nutritious meals and tea to soothe
our singing throats and yes even the jacuzzi one night to soak our tired feet!
We had our annual date night and it was so incredible. Being the person I am I
shed some happy tears as we shared our favorite moments from our time together. My heart ached in joy when we all went around
the table and said what we had learned from one another. I have truly created a
new family in Florida and I feel so grateful to have them. At our last dinner
together Kevin made a toast, champagne and all to his new family of adopted
children. We are always welcome in the Browne house. I keep asking myself how I
was so fortunate to get such a great family to host me for 5 weeks. We have
learned so much from each other and we are so comfortable that we can even have
disagreements and we manage to work things out and hug it all out! Tomorrow
morning when we say our last goodbyes before getting on the bus, I will without
a doubt be in tears. But then again when I am I not in tears. I am a Grenier
after all. Emotions come with the name.
As far as UWP this week, obviously
most of the focus was on the show, but the staff managed to squeeze some fun
things in as well. Our green room before the show was quite epic and it made me
so excited to get on the road and travel. The staff knows we are ready and as
sad as it is to say goodbye to Lakeland and our host families, we all know we
are ready to embark on the journey at hand.
After all, there are more eager host families who await us in the next
town. The staff also announced to us through a spontaneous game of wheel of
fortune that we get to go to DISNEY EPCOT theme park as a cast! You can only
imagine the excitement of 100 Uppies!!!! The staff also announced the
internships as if we were at a Golden Globe Awards ceremony. It was fabulous.
They are all so creative and fun. Amilee (my roommate) and I found the dress up
box in the closet one late night this week and proceeded to wear some wonderfully ridiculous
outfits to morning meeting the next day. Let’s just say we totally pulled it
off! We had a presentation about Camp Up with People this week as well and I am
definitely interested in counseling in a coming summer.
Lastly I must mention that my
roommate Amilee and I did not know each other at all, not even first names,
just over a month ago and now I swear we have become one. Tomorrow it is going
to be hard to part with her. We are not really parting, but we will have new
roommates. So tears will be shed there as well. Haha just kidding, but Amilee
and I do shed a lot of tears, because we laugh so hard! We have lots of
slaphappy laughing attacks and I swear I have never laughed harder. I am going
to miss sharing a room and bed with her. The other night we were restless
before our show day and we sang each other to sleep! This is just the beginning
of our friendship!
Well it is to time to hit the road
tomorrow! From this moment on life will be way different and full of exciting
new things!
“Oh
the places you’ll go!” –Dr. Seuss
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