One of the unique things about Brady P is that his magic absolutely MUST be shared with others.
He is a Joy Flower just dripping with sweet nectar for all the bees to thrive on. But, as the pandemic would have it, I was nearly the only bee allowed to buzz around for a while there.
One little bee cannot possibly collect and utilize all that sweet nectar and pollen. But the flower keeps producing its joy and wonder, hoping to share it with others.
And the bee feels a little worn out from trying to help that flower live up to its potential.
Before the pandemic officially started, I would take my little flower out for live music at the local establishment. He absolutely loved it!
He would dance until I could convince him it was time to go home for bed. He would meet all the musicians and learn their instruments. He would sample their foot pedals and push the switches on anything that flashed (if they let him).
He also melted the hearts of strangers. They would just give me the most wonderful compliments about him.
He thrived!
He got to shared his magic nectar!
The locals loved it and so did the visitors. It really meant a lot to me.
Then, like most wonderful and frivolous parts of life, it went away.
That was really hard for us. It may have been harder on me than him because I felt like I was wasting one of my most precious assets.
A couple Saturdays ago, one of our favorite local bands came to play. Brady P was so excited, that he talked about it each day until Saturday came.
It's been a couple years, and I wasn't quite sure how things would go, but he totally surprised me.
He met all the band members, of course. He learned about their instruments. He even spent 40 minutes playing his toy watermelon ukulele on the stage while stomping on two different sets of foot pedals before they officially took the stage.
And once they started playing, he danced the whole time. The whole entire time. I had to rush him drinks and snacks between every couple songs to keep his blood sugar at a functional level.
I was so proud of him.
His joy nectar was spraying on everyone. The people who remembered his dancing cheered with nostalgia. The people who just met him made sure to tell him good-bye when we had to leave.
I was overjoyed. We were in our element! He was able to spread his love again, and we felt so at home.
Here is one of his dances from early in the night. The band is called The Chöppers, and they come highly recommended by our town and Brady P.
A special thanks to everyone who took (and continues to take) the time to listen to him, watch him, interact with him and help entertain his curiosity.
May the joy nectar you receive rub off onto others.
P.S. We got to watch Encanto. Soooo good! I cried and sang the songs. B bounced through each song. He held me when I cried. So wonderful!
P.P.S. We made it through the latest storm! It blew so much that I can't tell you how much snow we got, but it was feet. And my snowblower is an absolute champion!!!
