Dedicated to Melissa....

During this week of November, my cousin Ann, my sister Kathy, my mom, Sean, my niece Laura and my friend Tonya all have their birthdays between the 9th and 16th of November. That doesn't include the other November birthdays of people I love. It just so happens that six of them are this week. So yesterday I drove to Salt Lake to celebrate lunch with Kathy and my mom, and dinner with Ann. As I made the hour drive to Salt Lake I put in the Les Mis CD. I turned up the music and enjoyed every minute of the drive. I even found myself with tears in my eyes driving down I-15, but in my mind I was in a theater in London sitting next to Melissa
waiting for Les Mis to begin.

The Les Mis experience really began with Melissa in 1991 when Tim and I went to London together for the first time. My sister Karen had arrange for tickets for us to go to Les Mis. I knew nothing about it. I had heard it was good, but that was about it. Remember that was over seventeen years ago, and nothing like that had come to Salt Lake. I will never forgot that first time seeing it in London. It was powerful!! Both Tim and I became instant fans of the music and story. When we came home from England, I can remember we bought the CD and started listening to it. Melissa was fascinated by the music. She was only 5 1/2 at the time. I remember sitting down with her and telling her the story of Les Mis. She was hooked. She would listen to the music and sing along. Now fast forward to 2004, 13 1/2 years later, I was in the same theater with Melissa waiting for the production to begin as we listened to the orchestra play. Melissa burst into tears. She couldn't hold it back. She had waited 13 1/2 years for this moment.
Melissa has a passion for beauty. She is driven by music, art, theater, literature and all things beautiful. I love her passion for life and for beauty. She reverences beauty. I love that about you Melissa. There is too many "things" of this world that are not worth our time and energies.
I love the beauty you have shown me in this world. "You raise me up".

I will be driving to Bountiful two more times this week for birthday celebrations, any suggestions for more 45 minute concerts? I does make the time go faster!!