sorry, Jesus

The other night some friends and I went to see another friend play in her band. Amanda is part of this organization that tours the country, playing at churches and youth activities.

So, yes, the concert was at A CHURCH in Fairborn. Of the five of us that went, only one of us is a regular churchgoer. The last time I was at church was Christmas Eve, and then I hadn't been since the LAST Christmas Eve. And seeing as how I read in the paper today that the Lutheran church is going to continue its stance of not making a stand, I probably won't be going back to Sunday worship for a while.

Anyway. When I told my mom where I was going, she kind of laughed like she thought I was kidding. Then she gave me a pointed look and made the lock-the-lips-throw-away-the-key gesture, because I have a history of behaving inappropriately at church. It's not my fault! It's just that church is so serious and I'm not a very serious person. And all of my inappropriate thoughts seem to come to mind during the quietest moments, meaning I have to work extra hard NOT to start giggling because there are no sounds to drown me out.

Luckily, the band had drums, a keyboard, TWO singers, and multiple guitars, so none of us had to be quiet. In fact, we were encouraged to sing along and do hand motions to some of the songs, and my inner cynic died a little inside because I DID THEM so the people in the band would feel good and because I love my friends SO MUCH that I will willingly embarrass myself in public by (dear God, no) actually acting happy and excited about something.

The only time I had to quell my hysterics was during one of the (many) prayers that started with "Dear Jesus," because it reminded me of this one time Lampl and I were walking to McMurray's. She was 21 but I still had a couple of weeks to go, so on the way to the bar we kept repeating variations of, "Dear Jesus, please let me/Jennie get a wristband at the bar" because a wristband at McMurray's meant you were 21, even if you were a FETUS. Surprisingly, God did not strike us down WHERE WE STOOD and I did, in fact, get a wristband at the bar. Go figure.

OK, I did accidentally curse ONE TIME when we were in the sanctuary, but I only said hell and the preacher says hell in there ALL THE TIME so I don't think I did anything THAT horrible. It's not like I said shit or damn, even though I probably thought those words at least once. But probably way more than that.

All joking aside, I really did have a good time. Amanda's band was REALLY good, especially considering she basically just started playing the bass and she said their drummer just learned the drums a few months ago. Plus, it was really good to see Amanda, since she's been traveling all over the country and LIVING IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER since May.