Enthusiasm.

I am an old fuddy-duddy.  We all are to one degree or another. I like things to be calm, quiet and predictable most of the time. But... I had an experience that made me rethink that recently.

Our kids are both in a local run of A Christmas Carol this year.

The show has evening performances all season. This is your standard evening theater, hushed crowds, respectful silence, no outbursts.

They also have student matinee performances where, thanks to generous donors, school kids from all over the metro area can come and see the play at a discounted rate.

I have been to see A Christmas Carol a dozen times or more over the last few years.  I like to watch my kids work, and with over 40 performances each year, it is easy.

But, since I work most weekdays, it has always been in the evening, with mostly reserved adults.

In talking with my kids about "how the show went"  each evening, they consistently say that the Student Matinees have better audiences.  Which is strange to me. I would assume that the respectful, genteel, adultish evening crowd would be more well behaved than random middle schools and high schools.

Yesterday, my wife and I went to a Student Matinee.

I get it now... There is no question that it is more rewarding to perform for the kids.

At the beginning of the show the emcee mentioned that "you, the audience, are an important part of the performance" and that it's ok to react to what happens on stage.

In the evening performances it is nearly pin-drop quiet.  Maybe a bit of tittering laughter when Scrooge warms his behind by the fire, but that's it.

Yesterday, near the end of the first act, my wife leaned over and said... "here it comes" just before the ghost of Jacob Marley bursts up from a surprise hole in the stage, chains rattling, dramatic lighting, and macabre face makeup in full effect.

The kids LOST it! They were spooked out of their seats, and the theater vibrated with their fear.

And later, when the Ghost of Christmas Past appeared suddenly above Scrooge, they gasped and awed at her beautiful, ethereal costume and angel-like movements.

And even later, when the Ghost of Christmas Present stood up to his surprising full height of 11 ft or more, they spontaneously "WOWed" in wonder.

It was so delightful and joyful, and...enthusiastic.

I am not sure why I hold the belief that the full measure of my enjoyment and enthusiasm is somehow rude, or gauche, or juvenile, or unrefined.

The world is starving for our enthusiasm. 

Until later, 

Spencer

P.S. If you read this whole email, here is your 9 minutes to think deeply about the world, which is a great follow up to my thoughts about enthusiasm.