There's No Comparing

Our tenth wedding anniversary coincided with us being in Nevada that summer. We had planned/hoped to go to Maine and leave our kids with my parents but couldn't get it worked out. We came up with a different, more easily executed plan. We went to St. George, Utah.

I know that you're thinking, St. George in August? We were wondering the same thing when the thermometer in our van told us it was 114 degrees outside.

We spent nearly all our time either in air conditioning or a pool.

And I thought it was beautiful.



But then, I love the desert.

One highlight for the trip was going to Tuacahn. It's an amphitheater in the red rocks with outdoor theater. The show we were going to see was Beauty and the Beast.



And it was amazing.



During the climactic scene when Gaston is rallying the town to "Kill the Beast!", there was a sudden thunder storm. There was lightening. And rain. And they ended the play.

(Something about actors not wanting to be struck by lightening.)

How rotten was our luck to be in St. George on one of the probably three days it rains?

We spent the rest of the evening pouting and dissatisfied.

We got a raincheck to see a new performance on another night but we weren't sticking around so gave it to my friend Rachel in Cedar City to use.

This year on Christmas morning there was a ticket to see Beauty and the Beast in each of the kids' stockings. And Adam had given me tickets as well.

I loved it.

All throughout the first act, I kept squeezing Adam's hand. I wanted to tell him,

I love you.

I love the expressions on our kids' faces.

I love this gift you gave us.

I love this play.

During the intermission Adam said, "It's not as good as the Tuacahn production." (Adam's one for critical analysis--I blame graduate school.)

I quickly defended the Village Theater. "I think it's as good."

As the lights went dim to start the second act, I started thinking about it though. The Tuacahn production was much bigger. The stage and cast were bigger. The costumes more elaborate. It took some of the shine off of the play.

I started comparing everything...what about Lumiere, isn't this Lumiere every bit as funny as the one at Tuacahn? I love those tap dancing salt and pepper shakers, did they have those at Tuacahn? Ooooh, I remember Monsieur D' Arque at Tuacahn, he came in an actual horse drawn carriage.

I was spending my time comparing and just like in the rest of life when you compare talent, beauty, or material possessions, it took all the fun out of it.

So I did what I (try to) do in those cases. I told myself to stop it. Stop it and enjoy the show.

I stopped comparing. And I loved the show.