This weekend, I threw a little party. You know, just a small TWO DAY gathering of a few hundred of my closest friends. This was the fourth year for BreezeFest and they just keep getting better!
Of course, scheduling the bands was an easy task. I called my husband’s friends and they were all quick to jump on board. That’s no big surprise. They loved him and, by proxy, they love me, too.
I’ve often said that when we started dating, I was a little nervous because I had never head anyone say anything negative about him. He seemed nice enough, but I just kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. It never did. He proved every day that he was as kind, as thoughtful, and as generous as he presented himself to be. So I let my guard down. I fell madly in love with him while hoping I could live up to his example.
The first two years, this event was meant to raise funds for my family after a year of hospitalizations and medical expenses, I was grateful. But I just couldn’t stop the gathering. Being surrounded by our big musical family to celebrate decades long friendships felt too good to stop.
So I reached out to my blues family to create a fund to help other musicians and club personnel in our Atlanta Blues family. That’s what my husband would have done if he were here. Giving is what he always did. Why stop now?
My intention was good and I was looking forward to having fun and enjoying the music. I was not prepared for the way all of these crusty old blues musicians took the stage in this crusty old blues dive and just absolutely brought sparkly shiny magic one after another.
It was billed as a two day blues festival but it turned out to be a family reunion instead. There were hugs. There were stories. There was a lot of laughter. There were some tears that came with memories. There were surprises when long lost musicians came from out of town to jump on stage and I may have wept a bit when the guy everyone would least expect to be a softy sang one just for me.
I’m so grateful for every second of the event. I believe it beautifully honored the man I love and feel certain he was there most of the time. Let’s do it again next year! Until then, keep sharing the photos and memories because that’s so good for the soul.
Meanwhile, tell someone you love them. Give them a hug. Keep them close.
