How do we handle the drought?

This is not what I meant to write, but when I sat down, this is what appeared on the paper!

Well, we have two more days to wait until Clay reprises his role in Spamalot on Broadway. The anticipation has gotten us through the last days and weeks, but what about the rest of the drought? How do we manage to get through weeks and months without a Clay sighting, without a blog, without radio play?

I know that many fans return to their real lives. They spend more time with their spouses and significant others. They play with their kids and cook them dinner. They go to work and respond promptly when asked a question. Some actually travel! Somehow they don’t feel like it’s cheating on Clay when they spend money on a plane ticket that won’t take them to a concert. A very few even spend money on tickets to things other than Clay concerts. Wow – now those are some independent women!

This fan, however, has no real life that will provide distractions and fill the time with pleasures while waiting for the greater pleasure.

This is not a poor me story! It’s just that I have managed to fill my real life with Clay, too. I have a job that I love and there are Clay posters on the walls and Clay CDs playing in my office and coworkers who ask regularly how Clay is doing and when I will see him next.

My kids are adults and live in other states. I see them several times a year and speak to them often. They always ask what’s on my Clay agenda! Someone asked my son what he thought of my fandom. He thinks it’s great that he doesn’t need to call me 5 times a week to see if I’m okay and not lonely. He leaves messages and says, “If you’re at a Clay concert, just call me later.” My daughter tries to rearrange her schedule so she can come along on my Clay trips.

I have wonderful friends with whom I spend a lot of time. Much of what we enjoy together is not Clay related at all. They will always ask about him, though, and they will always let me choose which CDs we are playing. Some of my Clay friends have visited my home and met my real life friends. What a surprise – everyone gets along beautifully! Each group remembers the others’ names and they recognize one another in pictures. I have good taste in friends.

My droughts are still filled with Clay! Each day, something will remind me how much I miss the tours, the concerts, the banter and all that is Clay. Unlike that song, "How can I miss you if you won't go away?", in some way I have Clay in my life every day, but I miss him!

Okay, so here’s my point – how do we get through the droughts? More important point? Aren’t you glad that Clay will be back in just two days?