and i am complete

Tour season is always trying for me. I'm always wondering how the shows are going to go, if our van and trailer are gonna make it there safely, if our band is going to make enough money to sustain itself, if we're going to be able to eat that day, if I'm going to run out of personal money, if someone in the band is going to get sick, if someone back home is going to get ill or even die. I also begin to miss my friends, my family, my loved ones, everyone back home.

And then there are those moments where I realize that I am a very blessed individual to have what I have and to do what I do. My job sometimes brings a heavy workload, but I am privileged to travel the country and meet some really cool people who sometimes have a huge impact on my life. This current tour has been just that for me. I've had interactions with people in every city that we've been in that I've walked away with some very deep impressions. From an amazing send off dinner with our friends in Macon, GA after a packed afternoon acoustic show to a late night conversation and listening to Dane Cook with my friend, Andy, in Atlanta, to an amazing time with my friend Steven and his girlfriend Emily after our Douglasville show, to seeing an old friend that I'm very concerned about in Columbus, to awesome bro time with some friends in Jackson, MS, to a talk with a really cool worship leader on a porch in Shreveport, LA at 5:00am, to great talks with my good friend and our merch guy on a balcony in Plano, TX, to meeting some really appreciative fans outside of our Ft. Worth, TX show, to meeting some of the coolest, most genuine people, and even a very 'stoned neighbor' who had some very thought-provoking, interesting, life-changing things to say in Abilene, TX to a conversation with a drunk cowboy in Midland, TX, to a conversation outside of our venue in Waco, TX with some folks in the opening band, to porchside conversations with our good friend Alex in Waxahachie or something that someone says as encouragement at our Dallas, TX show, all of these things have given me a new found appreciation for touring.

Sure, I find it intriguing that people actually pay money to come and see us play. And I'm giving it 100% every night. But, at the same time, I'm fully aware that some of the folks I will never talk to, and its those that I do and the interactions that I have with them that stretch far beyond any experience I can ever ask for in this life.

Some of these conversations have really made me think deeply about a lot of things in my life. And as my friend, Max, and I were talking about earlier today, I am finally feeling comfortable with who I am as a person. And, I'm so thankful that God has brought the people into my life that He has, that He has allowed me to come in contact with some amazingly beautiful people, all over this country.

I feel like the rest of this tour is going to be great. Bed now? Maybe. I'm thirsty.

~m