I've got a show this week!  With a real band on a real stage and a real audience (if anybody shows up...please show up!).  It feels too good to be true; seems like it's been years since I've played like this. 

Probably because it has. 

So I got the band together this week for a quick practice to run through the set list.  More than half the songs are brand new, and then the rest are from previous albums.  It was shocking for me to realize that some of my older tunes are almost 20 years old now. 

My song babies are all grown up.  And apparently, so am I. 

Playing songs from the old days feels bizarre. Singing those old lyrics feels like trying on clothes that I wouldn't really wear today.  And don't get me wrong: I used to love my platform shoes and skorts, but they aren't really my style anymore.  Similarly, playing 20 year-old tunes makes me cringe. 

But sometimes, you gotta embrace it. 

Reader, we aren't born finished.  We go through stages.  We continue to progress.  And there's nothing wrong with where we've been, or where we're going.  It's all part of our story.  (Besides, the phase we're in today will probably feel awkward when we look back to it in 20 years). So best to celebrate all of it, even the parts that feel cringeworthy: those parts got you where you are today. 

I hope you have a great week. Please come see me on Thursday! -Em