Opportunity of a Lifetime

At a family gathering months ago, my father-in-law announced that he had been given the opportunity of a lifetime. We imagined he found the perfect location for new wine store, or that he stumbled onto free plane tickets to Rome.

Nope! He was offered a role in the TriArts Sharon Playhouse production of Sound of Music. At first he was cast as a soldier, but somewhere along the line he got promoted to be the butler (with speaking lines!). Peter and I are heading down tonight to see him in action.

The great thing about his early declaration was that he wasn't joking in the least. He loves the Sound of Music with his whole heart, and having the chance to participate in it - in even a small way - is a huge honor for him. It's the kind of dream we never spend much time thinking about, let alone pursuing. He would never audition for Broadway, or even take an acting class. But the opportunity arose, and he said yes without hesitation. We should all be so lucky to have our back-burner, seemingly just out of reach dreams come true.