unscripted

unscripted.

this word has been willowing about my thinking – sleeping and awake – for over a week now.

last weekend, Howard took me to my first Houston rodeo. not being a rodeo gal, I wore a skirt and missed my chance to bungee jump and zip-line.

dang it. that's my idea of a good time.

afterwards, we stopped for pho and talked about our day. i asked him what his favorite parts of the rodeo were and he asked me mine. they were:

• the 7th grade Horticulture Identification champion that we met while chomping down turkey legs, fried food, and too cold tea for such a windy day. (he was a great kid; shy, smart, and sweet.)

• it was the ride to and from our off-site parking spot that took us over and above Houston in a big old luxury bus like the ones I would take to school in Stuttgart. we saw things from a height unknown to fellow pontiac vibe drivers and the return trip after the sun set and the lights blazed was mesmerizing. 

• and on the bus were people of every story, size, shape, shade, and reason to be

• the bus ride bonus was that each shuttle had a telly feed showing rodeo highlights that we missed while walking around the stalls and vendors

• i loved that each lamb, each baby sheep was charcoal grey and black. it isn't until they were full grown that they grew into their white-as-snow color. i sure appreciate that; we don't have to be shiny as we grow into the unique identity God has given us. he knows we are ornery sheep. he came for us anyway.

• even better was the farmer in charge of the sheep work hard so that a little cowboy kid could get to know another fuzzy kid. the farmer didn't have to do it, but you could see there was joy for each of them in the doing.

• we stopped along the midway and watched the bull riders on the electronic monster; they were fun. but more fun and impressive was the woman at the controls of the tandem robotic bulls. she had a great time and made sure that each rider had a great time, too. sometimes, folks work hard to make other people struggle and get far flung…humiliated. she knew how to push each rider to their limit and allow them to enjoy the adventure before getting tossed to the cushions below. and she was so encouraging. i want to be like her.

• i enjoyed watching the bull show where people of every age competed to feature their best bull, steer, or big cow-y thing. participants worked together and though i understood so very little, you could tell that most of them enjoyed themselves and the day.

• we also witnessed the rodeo version of a zamboni prepare for the American Quarterhorse something something world championships. we joined a small enthusiastic crowd that clearly had a give and take relationship with the riders. 

• and i saw someone in cowboy boots and a big buckle spit chew on the floor like nobody's business. and it was okay because it made the adventure that much more authentic.

the point? all of my favorite parts were the unscripted ones where people just sat down, chatted up, and went about their business in their ordinary lives – rodeo style.

if we saw any famous people, i didn't notice. there were too many awesome everyday ordinary people to enjoy and marvel over.

Something to consider: we work too hard to make everything PERFECT and most often miss out on the better and best of the unscripted everyday ordinary life.

all this from a day when i got to hold the hand of the best fella while he invited me into another part of his Houston world.

yehaw!