Being a part of something BIG

Last night, Robin took me to the Billy Joel concert at the TD Bank North Garden, compliments of her husband Jeff (thanks Jeff!).

It was good to see a familiar face, as Billy and I go way back. I remember the first time I saw the MTV video for Up Town Girl - I was at a Brownie Girl Scout meeting. Billy has kept me company while studying for finals, brought me on various mental tours of New York City, and made me a star at hang-outs such as Jake Ivory's. Billy also visited my hometown, when he filmed his River of Dreams video. In fact, some friends made cameos in that music video!

As you can see, Billy and I are on a first name basis. ;)

And like hanging out with an old friend, you can always sing along to his songs.

The last encore for the evening was none other than Piano Man. This song is arguably his most famous song. In between belting out the lyrics, I took a breath. For the next half minute or so, I stopped singing.

Instead, I listened.

Amazing! In the 19,600-seat arena, of which there were very few empty seats, every concert-goer was swaying side-to-side while singing along. It was such a beautiful sound - unison. So many voices, yet all together.

At the Ironman, this is what you experience the first few seconds between the moment the canons go off and your face hits the water. This is the only time the entire day (all 17-hours of it) that every athlete is together. You realize at this moment that we are all in this together trying to reach a common goal.

I have also felt like this when playing team sports, especially when you execute an important play - like a full court press in basketball. Each teammate is responsible for how successful it is, even the ones on the bench.

The sense of being a part of something so BIG makes you realize how small you are. At the same time, you are an integral part of making that moment happen.

Hats-off to Billy and his crew for a fabulous concert and making me feel a part of his team.