"Something Wicked This Way Comes"

The title of tonight's blog doesn't really reflect the day I have. I picked it because it's one of my favourite lines in my second favourite Shakespeare play. It's a line from Act IV, Scene 1 in MacBeth. As it true with a lot of Shakespeare's quotes, it's only half the line. The full line is: "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."

I mention this because I spent the day in Stratford, Ontario with my parents. We went and saw "Much Ado About Nothing" at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. It was awesome. I don't remember Much Ado being that funny, perhaps due to the fact that I was more than a decade younger when I first encountered it. Seeing it come to life was wonderful. Beatice is one of the few female Shakespeare characters who's strong and doesn't meet a fatal end. I really love her. One of my favourite lines of her is " I'd rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear that he loves me". Her battle of the wits with Benefick is definitely one of Shakespeare's best examples of writing. And it's friggin hysterical.

The long and the short of it is that Beatrice refuses to settle for any man, just for the sake of marriage. She believes that love and marriage are a curse, and so does the man she ends up marrying. I think I like the character so much because I can relate to her. I like to think that I'm just as witty as she is, but I'm not quite so mean. And I'm not willing to settle either. Yes, I'm single. Yes, I've been single for a very long time. Unlike Beatrice, I do believe in love and marriage, but like her, I will not settle just for the sake of not being single anymore. I'd rather be single and happy than married and miserable. I enjoy being a strong, independent woman. I just wouldn't mind having someone to protect me from time to time when I opt to let my guard down. And cuddle with. And steal kisses from. LOL. You get my point.

I really do love Shakespeare. Whether you believe he truly existed or not, his works have stood the test of time. I'd love to be able to write something that one day that would still be relevant and enjoyed 500 years from now.

Not entirely sure what we're up to tomorrow. My dad is going golfing and my mom and I are going grocery shopping. In the afternoon, my niece and nephew are being dropped off for a few hours so that I can spend some time with them. I have to admit, I'm slowly getting used to being around kids. I'm still leery about it, but they're drawing me in!

"Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be morrow."
(bonus points if you know which play that's from...without resorting to Google!)

Sarah