Peter Pan

Grace in her ferocious makeup for her role as Slightly, Peter Pan's lieutenant.

Grace and Dad after the big show, in her costume, taking pictures with her adoring fans.

The whole family (Jay included), with the boys in their fancy hats. We were all so proud!

Grace just completed a two-week run of Peter Pan with MYART, her community theater troupe of choice. This is the third show she's done with MYART, and she's rarin' to go for another in the fall. (I, on the other hand, was whupped by this show and the costumes I had to create and the money spent. But what's a theater mom to do?)

Peter Pan ran May 7, 8,9 and 14, 15, with two shows on each Saturday and two field trip shows on the respective Fridays. Grace did her "lead" on the night of Friday the 14th, and we were blessed with many friends and family members who showed up to support her.

She was terrific in her role. She sang, she acted and she filled in a line for someone who didn't say hers. I love how Grace's talent is growing and that she is looking forward to trying out for bigger roles in the years to come. Brava!!

The Harried Blogger

Hello, my name is Sheryl, and it's been 15 days since my last post.

I have no excuse for not posting besides my busy schedule, but doesn't everyone have a busy schedule these days? Isn't that the reason why we blog: to keep track of those crazy moments so we can reflect back years from now? So we can have a record of what we did while we were on this earth and what we did during our kids' formative years? I need to get better at posting!

Because of my limited brain functionality -- I am 40 now, you know -- I have had to focus all my attention (and I do mean all) to the items that have consumed my life for the past three weeks: Grace's MYART show, Grace's birthday, the boys' daily lessons and IN-CLASS State Testing and, to a lesser extent, my 40th birthday, which came and went like a flash and left me a year older and psychologically in flux. These events all require their own separate postings, but the aggregate effect of having multiple events happen at one time was overwhelming. I wanted to process everything one item at a time, but as you know, the real world asks you to process several things at once, often to unsatisfactory conclusions.

So, today, on the boys' 8th birthday, I will resume our tales of the burrow and start hitting the highlights of the past few weeks. Hold on. Be Patient. There's a lot to tell . . . .

Drama, Drama, and then . . . more Drama!

The past two weeks have been taken up with MYART auditions and callbacks for their latest production, Peter Pan. MYART is the Musical Youth Artists Repertory Theater, and Grace has been involved with this group for the past two years. Yes, my daughter has been bitten by the acting bug and has even forsaken softball (her dad could just cry) for the call of the theater. She does have some chops, that one, and it is so fun to see her on stage.

This time, Grace auditioned for two much bigger roles and ones that would require more stage time, some solo singing, and quite a few lines. We kept our fingers crossed, but she only got called back for one. This was one of those life lessons that hurt you as a mom because you see your daughter sad and disappointed, and you know she did her very best. What do you say to your child except that things always work out the way they are supposed to and that because she did her best she has nothing to be sad about? Even though we know it's the truth, the words we utter at times like these seem empty and offer very little consolation.

However, her callback for lead lost boy was successful, and Grace will be performing in a couple of the shows (they rotate lead roles so that more kids get to perform) as Slightly, Peter Pan's second-in-command. She has lots of stage time and will get to show off her skills. She is in rehearsals already and is pretty happy. She handled her disappointment and even knows now why she didn't get the other part -- the director thought she was too tall.

Ah, the theater! -- the ups and downs, the laughter and the tears. And that's just the parents.