as anyone well educated in classic, award-winning musical movies of a past era now currently in a nation-wide farewell play tour to the same actor that participated both in the movie and play as the main character, you will of course, undoubtedly, know what quote I’m using for my title.
What is sad is that it was here at the Walton Arts Center and I missed it, for shame. Fiddler on the Roof was one of those movies I watched at a fairly young age and thus it had a profound (somewhat) effect on me. I wished that matchmakers still existed. I wished that a man came around selling milk to my door on a rickshaw/wagon delio and sang and danced. It is hard to separate reality from pretend when you are young. I loved the part when the oldest daughter’s love interest petitioned her father for her hand in marriage and he gave in! They were running through the beautiful trees, singing, and they were so excited and joyful at this miracle!
Because I have an extensive playlist in my head, this song came to me the other day at my orthodontist appointment. Yes. Really. I was singing “wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles” over and over, cause I don’t really know the verses to the song and tapping my hand on my leg in time to the music in my head. I know, crazy. I realized that other people don’t hear what I hear, so I stopped tapping my hand and tried to look as normal as possible. Which is a slightly bored, blank stare, occasionally looking at my fingernails like I gave a crap what they looked like. Yeah, there’s normal! and please don’t call me out on this when you see this look on my face…
So, why all the celebratory musical interludes? you ask. Well, as I can be a little whiny about having my jaw broken in several places then wired shut and having to stay in the hospital for days, then not be able to eat for six weeks, I asked my orthodontist, “do I haffta get this surgery, really really? I don’t need perfection, I need functionality” and he just looked at me. I felt guilty, I am getting a good deal on all this, so I didn’t want to seem ungrateful. But instead of a scolding, he looked thoughtful and slowly said, “you know….” and I felt a surge of something strange… hope? “I think you should wait on the surgery… you may NOT need it. Your teeth have moved a LOT”
I didn’t move. I looked around, wondering if this was just some stupid dream of mine that I would wake up from and be like “Noooooooooooooooooo” in agony, but no, this is real. Really really real. I’m like, don’t be joshing with me and had a goobery, slobbery smile (slobbery because they were working on my teeth and all). And so, friends, this miracle I’ve been praying for for like years now may be coming true. this is beyond my scope of comprehension somewhat, it’s too good to be real. But it is. It looks like God has taken something I’ve dreaded for so long. This is something both my surgeon and orthodontist said couldn’t happen. But it did. Or, it really looks like it will. I am so happy that when I lay down to sleep and wake up my heart is joyful. My whole outlook on life has changed. Before, all our plans were hinging on this surgery and my fear and dreading of it. Now, I feel set free and don’t know what to do with myself. I could go on and on, but I won’t. You get the general idea. This happened almost a week ago, so you can see that I’m still in shock. Amazingocity itself.