purgatory week.

There's this thing in theater called hell week. That's usually the last week of rehearsals, where you move from wherever you've been rehearsing on to the actual stage where you will be performing the show. It's the week when you incorporate lights, sounds, props and costumes. It's when you stop calling for lines and start realizing that hey, you're going to actually do this thing in front of real, breathing people. It's a pretty intense week of rehearsals, and if you're doing community theater, it also means you're working and attending to family obligations during the other hours of the day. Oh, and sleeping. Ha! And trying to remain healthy. Ha HA!

This show that I'm doing has had a pretty short rehearsal period for these sorts of things - usually it's a couple of weeks longer. This means that we've been rehearsing more days per week than normal, and weird days too - sometimes Friday nights, sometimes Sunday afternoons, always Tuesdays, and these days Wednesdays too. This week we have four days in a row beginning tomorrow  - our director called it "purgatory week" in our most recent email from him. I'm not saying it's not needed or if I were directed I wouldn't do the same thing - but between work and theater, Jane is extremely unhappy with me right now. And the guilt is in high gear.

I bang the "Moms get to have hobbies too" drum the loudest and hardest. I see way too many people abandon who they are completely when they have kids. It freaks me out, and it sucks, and I will not have it. So, sure, I've limited what I do in terms of theater since I had Jane, but I never completely stopped. But I knew this round was taking its toll after I got back from New York City last weekend (went with my friends, had an amazing time, if you missed the drunk Tweeting than you're a lucky person) when I received the ultimatum: "No more theater or New York City this summer" from Jane. 

And sure, trips to New York and theater are two of my very favorite things. And I've been doing a lot of both lately. But Jane's on that list too. In fact, she's at the top. So once this show is over, we go straight into our first vacation at the beach. (Well - in between I have to work graduation at my place of employment - but right after that.) The week after that she has preschool graduation. For reals - they are doing a whole ceremony. Holy waterworks, I am going to need a box of tissues and/or a flask for this event. Do you think they will play 'Pomp and Circumstance'? Because holy shit, the tears will flow. I can't even think about it.

Aaaanyway, after that (oh, and Jane's dance recital too - Jesus Christ, what else can we squeeze in in the next two weeks?),I've declared it the "Summer of Amanda and Jane (and Greg too, but he works a lot)" - we are going to do tons of cool shit before she embarks on the craziest journey of all - 12 years of public school. If you have any ideas of fun things we can do, I'd love to hear them!

 Mother's Day

 Subway rats

 Happy girls in NYC

 show cast

and this is happening