Y’all, I am not a concert person.
I surprised Dalton with tickets to see Chris Stapleton at the Austin 360 Amphitheater this past week. The venue is absolutely stunning, and we could not have asked for a more beautiful fall evening, but y’all, why? Chris, you are amazing, but I am not sure why I paid $300 dollars to sit and listen to you when I can stream you on Spotify as much as I want for $10 dollars a month all while in the comfort of my own home? Plus I can hear all of my other favorite artists in one great concert that involves my couch, a cheese plate and my beverage of choice. Better yet, I can invite friends over (for free) and share in great conversation with your music (and cheese) playing in the background. Right? I know I am not preaching to the choir, so do not answer that.
Either way, I had to share: Dalton and I are not concert people, and luckily we were on the same page about this and very clear-consciously snuck out early because listening to Chris Stapleton on the car ride home was just as good for us.
Now, please stay with me. I am about to make a big leap getting to what this blog post is really about – writing.
For whatever reason, leaving the concert these exact words jumped to my brain, “y’all, we are not concert people.” I literally pictured writing this statement for others to read. There was no other reason to use the pronoun y’all in my conversation with myself other than it served as another gentle nudge that has been a constant voice in my head over the past year. I get these nudges a lot. I may jot down a note or two on my phone and hold a “first draft” conversation in my head, but they usually stay there. I haven’t had the “time” (cough, cough, discipline) to put thought to paper.
Then I looked back and discovered that I have not written a blog post in over a year. These conversations have become strictly internal. I do not flesh them out on paper. I do not lean into the "y'all." I do not stick with what these thoughts just might be teaching me (which often times I learn if I take the time to process through pen). I ignore these nudges again and again. Yet, "y’all” continues to sneak into my thoughts, most recently at a Chris Stapleton concert, and I know “y’all” is my call to write.
And, y’all, I am jumping back in. So while Chris Stapleton live wasn’t worth my $300 dollars, the “y’all” that finally forced me back to writing was.