Shauna Goes To Hamilton
Donation protected
Dear friends,
Today, I bring a special ask. For months, I’ve been searching out a way to send Shauna Ahern to “Hamilton”. Among other things—mother of two exquisite littles; James-Beard-Award winning author of three cookbooks; creator of the decade-strong blog Gluten Free Girl ; celiac warrior; food whisperer; lifelong lover of musicals; luminous witty wise word-wrangler; dear friend—Shauna is the little bird who first brought “Hamilton” to my attention, years ago. It changed me in all the ordinary extraordinary ways genius does, and in other deeply particular, profoundly important ones, besides. For this, I’m forever grateful.
Shauna’s “Hamilton” love is as deep, pure and powerful as it comes. For well over a year, we’ve exchanged ideas about how to put her in “Hamilton’s” path. When word of a San Francisco performance first broke, we cheered. The West Coast! Alas, plane fare + sky-high theater tickets don’t align with a young family + a freelance income. A 50th birthday came and went, with “Hamilton” yet on the bucket list.
Then, this year, a Seattle stop! The stars had at last aligned!
Then, this year, a cascade of medical challenges. Each steeper than the last. To wit, the most recent: double mastectomy, late January. Followed by: (emergency) second surgery. Postscript: massive staph infection. And this, my friends, is just this past month.
It’s been a year.
A year in which, let me be clear, pity was never (ever) on the menu. Read Shauna’s words—oh, read Shauna’s words —and what you’ll find is courage. Incorrigible gratitude. Laughter, despite it all. Laughter, because of it all. And a fierce, unyielding, clear-eyed love of life, as it comes. To navigate life’s most burlap-like bits with robust attention and lucid appreciation is a rare thing. To wrap the journey in shared words that bring us up short, make us pause, help us notice, nudge us toward ourselves and each other: this, this is a gift. A gift Shauna’s been giving, freely, for ten years.
Friends, can we send her to “Hamilton”?
The nitty gritty: “Hamilton” plays in Seattle through March 18. Weeknight nosebleed seats start at $275; these are going fast. What can we accomplish by March 3? I have set $275 as the goal, as this would secure Shauna a seat. This would, quite literally, realize a dream. Because I’ve learned never to underestimate community, never to place a ceiling on humanity, consider: $550 would send both Shauna and Danny, her beloved, to the show. (Talk about date night.) And: $825 would include Lucy, their (weaned-on-musicals, always-dancing, book-loving, forever-dreaming) 9-year-old, as well. Dream of dreams
Your money is hard-earned; your time, precious. This, I know, and profoundly respect. Equally, there are Endless Big, Important Issues afoot. No pressure; no apologies. I ask—and I’m a rank amateur at asking—because I believe in our collective ability to do what daunts, individually. I ask because I believe, stubbornly, in a raging undercurrent of good. I ask because this odd duck of a digital community floors me, time and again, with its knack for surfacing streaks of concrete kindness and caring all out of proportion to the flighty pixels from whence it came.
If you have read this far? Thank you. If you would like to give, know that donations as small as $5 are accepted, and deeply appreciated. Thank you. If you would like simply to leave a note, know that it will be shared, and read, and equally cherished. Thank you.
xx,
Molly
Today, I bring a special ask. For months, I’ve been searching out a way to send Shauna Ahern to “Hamilton”. Among other things—mother of two exquisite littles; James-Beard-Award winning author of three cookbooks; creator of the decade-strong blog Gluten Free Girl ; celiac warrior; food whisperer; lifelong lover of musicals; luminous witty wise word-wrangler; dear friend—Shauna is the little bird who first brought “Hamilton” to my attention, years ago. It changed me in all the ordinary extraordinary ways genius does, and in other deeply particular, profoundly important ones, besides. For this, I’m forever grateful.
Shauna’s “Hamilton” love is as deep, pure and powerful as it comes. For well over a year, we’ve exchanged ideas about how to put her in “Hamilton’s” path. When word of a San Francisco performance first broke, we cheered. The West Coast! Alas, plane fare + sky-high theater tickets don’t align with a young family + a freelance income. A 50th birthday came and went, with “Hamilton” yet on the bucket list.
Then, this year, a Seattle stop! The stars had at last aligned!
Then, this year, a cascade of medical challenges. Each steeper than the last. To wit, the most recent: double mastectomy, late January. Followed by: (emergency) second surgery. Postscript: massive staph infection. And this, my friends, is just this past month.
It’s been a year.
A year in which, let me be clear, pity was never (ever) on the menu. Read Shauna’s words—oh, read Shauna’s words —and what you’ll find is courage. Incorrigible gratitude. Laughter, despite it all. Laughter, because of it all. And a fierce, unyielding, clear-eyed love of life, as it comes. To navigate life’s most burlap-like bits with robust attention and lucid appreciation is a rare thing. To wrap the journey in shared words that bring us up short, make us pause, help us notice, nudge us toward ourselves and each other: this, this is a gift. A gift Shauna’s been giving, freely, for ten years.
Friends, can we send her to “Hamilton”?
The nitty gritty: “Hamilton” plays in Seattle through March 18. Weeknight nosebleed seats start at $275; these are going fast. What can we accomplish by March 3? I have set $275 as the goal, as this would secure Shauna a seat. This would, quite literally, realize a dream. Because I’ve learned never to underestimate community, never to place a ceiling on humanity, consider: $550 would send both Shauna and Danny, her beloved, to the show. (Talk about date night.) And: $825 would include Lucy, their (weaned-on-musicals, always-dancing, book-loving, forever-dreaming) 9-year-old, as well. Dream of dreams
Your money is hard-earned; your time, precious. This, I know, and profoundly respect. Equally, there are Endless Big, Important Issues afoot. No pressure; no apologies. I ask—and I’m a rank amateur at asking—because I believe in our collective ability to do what daunts, individually. I ask because I believe, stubbornly, in a raging undercurrent of good. I ask because this odd duck of a digital community floors me, time and again, with its knack for surfacing streaks of concrete kindness and caring all out of proportion to the flighty pixels from whence it came.
If you have read this far? Thank you. If you would like to give, know that donations as small as $5 are accepted, and deeply appreciated. Thank you. If you would like simply to leave a note, know that it will be shared, and read, and equally cherished. Thank you.
xx,
Molly
Organizer and beneficiary
Molly Hays
Organizer
Bainbridge Island, WA
Shauna Ahern
Beneficiary