Vulnerable Night Vol 3

I was anxious about getting the third vulnerable night planned already six months since the last! So I was pretty excited to set a date with my favorite coffee shop. It meant a lot to have a special space to gather.

A couple nights before the event, my contact at the shop let me know that he’d resigned and that they were currently closed. I saw this message at midnight and went into a spiral of cry fits and social media holes. I was sad about the event and I was sad about my favorite place that had felt like another home to me. In the darkness of the night, my world felt like it was falling apart.

Yes it’s all very silly in the big scheme of things. But sometimes everything feels so massive in those dark hours of the eve.

By the next morning there were friends and folks I barely knew reaching out with ideas for new locations. The event was one day away. I was touched by the kindness and exhausted because of the not sleeping.

I had given up on having this at all. But the willingness to help made me remember why I do this. And also reminded me that others needed this night. I didn’t want to let them down.

We ended up holding the evening in a living room. Thank you Justin. I brought coffee. Justin brought out his wine. Some folks brought snacks. It all came together. It was wonderful.

The evening was more lighthearted than the last events. But it was like nothing I’d experienced. At least in a while. We shared thoughts, music, stories, poems, journal entries.

We didn’t look at phones, or social media, or things on tv. We were present. We listened. We engaged. We made eye contact. We talked to each other.

I’m grateful that I didn’t give into my late night meltdown about giving up on this night. It was better than I could have imagined.

I’m looking forward to the next one. In a living room. With snacks and coffee and wine.