In the final two weeks of the tour, there were far too many memories made to possibly recall in detail. So this will be a "highlight reel" of sorts. The cities we visited got progressively more exciting, and Denver did not break the trend. Our hotel was located downtown, with a full view of Bronco's Stadium and the Rocky Mountains. We settled into our new digs and had some time to explore before being introduced to the theatre the following day. It really is a beautiful city. I walked around the downtown area for a while, running into streets that were completely decked with Christmas decorations. One street had these really elegant white string lights hanging right over the street- it was really magical to turn the corner and see something like that. There were other streets glowing with blue and green Christmas lights, which was both beautiful and confusing. There aren't any sports teams in Denver with those colors, and it's not a popular Christmas combination. At any rate, it looked like a beautiful place to be spending Christmas.
Our performance space for the week was the Buell Theatre, located just 3 blocks from our hotel! The inside of the theatre was gorgeous. The walls were some kind of light stone, which gave the entire house this brightness or glow. This was especially showcased when we saw the snowfall section of our show in this space. Before we knew it, it was onto the beginning of the end. Exciting crowd after exciting crowd shuffled in to share the Christmas joy, and among them was one of my good friends from Stevens Point, Sir Nicholas Reising (Knighthood pending). We were able to catch up after the show and talk about how both of us made the journey from StePo, Wisconsin to Denver over the past two years. It was a great evening of bringing up old embarrassing college tales and getting caught up!
The highlight of the tour, and Denver in particular, was easily the day that my parents drove in to see the show! The day before they arrived, I set myself on a mission to deck out their room with as much Christmas as I could fit. I gathered Christmas lights, cookie-scented candles, tinsel, fresh apple cider, and of course.... That Christmas tree. I checked into their room with a couple hours to decorate before they arrived. With a little help, the room was left glowing and smelling of Christmas, complete with presents under the tree. I finished with just enough time to brew a fresh batch of cider as my parents arrived. I went down to meet them, we all got our crying out of the way, and I showed them up to the room. It was awesome to welcome them into a room that resembled a slice of our home during the Christmas season. Of course, before they had arrived, it didn't quite feel like home. They settled in with a cup of cider and then we were ready to share this amazing city together!
We traveled up to Estes Park, which was a little over an hour away, to get ourselves closer to the mighty Rocky Mountains. The view was breathtaking- at points it was hard to tell where the mountains ended and the sky began! This was a little different from the lay of the land in Wisconsin! Being a few thousand feet higher here, I had forgotten the air would be thinner... and colder! We perused the downtown area, which is a cute little tourist town, complete with your standard fudge shops and knick-knack stores. We ducked into a diner to find warmth and food, and it appears a higher power had called us there. Off in the distance was a hallway of green and gold. It couldn't be.... could it? Could it really be true? Was it really a Packers man cave? With autographed pictures, too? Indeed, in the middle of Bronco territory, a little slice of Lambeau that would surely make Lombardi proud. After sensible selfie or five, it was time to chow and return to the hotel!
After a couple days of walking around the city, my parents were ready for the "main event". They were coming to the Sunday evening show, which I had marked on the calendar months ago. It was another milestone, another moment I'm certain not to forget. This is what my parents and I had always talked about, what they knew I had been dreaming of since I was a kid. It was a "Rudy" moment. I savored every bit of the show, a show that I had been proud of for countless reasons. We met up after the show and were able to talk about the show and what an awesome experience it has been. They were finally able to see the things and people I had been trying to describe over the phone for the prior two months!
They left a couple days before Christmas to make sure they could get back to the rest of the family in time. It was, of course, sad to see them go. However, I can't imagine how I would have felt had they not been able to make the trip at all! It was a surreal feeling to talk with them on the phone two days later as they stood in my grandma's apartment, having the traditional Christmas Eve I had been present for 25 years in a row! Christmas with my Grinch family was a blessing. Going to church and then sharing a nice Christmas dinner with these warm friends was the perfect way to avoid being too dragged down by being away from home. Christmas Day brought many things, the first of which was the big reveal of our Secret Santas. There's a special kind of joy on someone's face when they discover who has been working hard to give them little gifts throughout the previous week. You could tell that the whole thing really made people feel special and connected. My Secret Santa KILLED IT! A Green Bay Packer hat, Packer earphones, and even a Packer rubber ducky. I mean... You can't do much better than that! Later that evening, we had a show... which was really weird to me. Performing on Christmas??? We did indeed perform on Christmas, and it was a really cool experience. It was a loving and lively audience, and our family on stage was joyful to be using this show as an outlet to express their Christmas cheer.
It is a very odd feeling to perform a Christmas show after Christmas, which is something we experienced December 26-28. It wasn't quite the same, but at that point we had been overtaken by a deeper sense of appreciation for the people around us, considering we'd shortly be saying "farewell" for now. For that reason, the last few days cruised by until we arrived at our very final show. I held back the tears for the most part (those came later), and you could feel everyone pumping everything they could onto the stage. We took our final curtain call, headed back stage, and prepared to transition... as people in our world are so often required to do.
Pretty soon we were on the bus to the airport, and then left to part ways. Most people were headed back to NYC, so I hung out there, as my flight for Wisconsin wouldn't be leaving for another couple of hours. Parting ways at the airport was tough and alienating, but all filled with love and appreciation. I had been touched by a few of these people more than I had perhaps thought. What a painful blessing in this moment. After wishing everyone safe travels, it was time to fly solo- time to reflect.
I left the tour a different person than I had entered it. My life had changed in so many ways in that three months. I grew farther from people in my life as others drew closer, and as still others were introduced into my life to teach, to entertain, to inspire. The people I met on this tour did all those things and more for me. I am nothing but grateful to have been given this opportunity, and I hope for nothing more than to be reunited with parts of this family down the road. It's always a good sign when parting is this tough. Although it didn't feel great in that moment, it means I had let people in. I had opened myself up to receive and give love, and that is one of the most precious things a human being can do in life.