We had our first rehearsal for Portland’s Listen to Your Mother show this morning.

Afterward, I felt like passing out. It’s quite possible I was dehydrated from crying, or low on oxygen from laughing so hard. My head was spinning, my body was shaking, and I’m pretty sure I was incoherent.

I am in awe of the women in that room– both individually, and of the collective us. I am in awe of the hugeness of each story. Of the artistry with which they were told. Of the rawness and honesty. There was so much truth in that room, so much perfect imperfection. I haven’t felt so shaken and yet so alive in a very long time. I felt both dizzy and crystal-clear.

Here’s what it was like: when somebody you love dies unexpectedly, and everything that doesn’t matter falls away. Have you ever felt that? That feeling of not being in this world, of free-falling, of being completely rudderless and untethered, and yet at the same time, feeling completely, 100% connected and real and vividly alive? That’s what this morning was like.

You better get your tickets soon. You will want to be in that room, feeling both dizzy and laser-focused, seeing and seen. We will be wearing jewel tones and telling the stories that will break you to pieces and make you feel whole. Be there with us.