Time flies, whether you are having fun or not. The days just whiz by. It is already after Thanksgiving and will be December in two days.
Don't EVEN ask about Christmas! Actually, I've been buying a few things here and there, just small things, but I won't really be able to do anything til next week. I've spent most of my waking hours outside of work either at the theatre or working on my show.
I really love directing. It's just hard to direct and be producer at the same time. On top of that, it's hard to get volunteers during the holidays. I have found a couple, but it is a challenge. And "A Tuna Christmas" has a LOT of costumes and costume changes. I've been helping the costumer find costumes and the props manager find props and building the set and whatever. I haven't done much of the painting -- thank goodness for my friend Nancy; she's retired and has worked her tail off painting on the set the past couple of weeks. It is surprising how much painting has been required on such a simple set.
This is the week the show opens. It is too late to be nervous about whether the actors are ready. They are doing a great job and they will make it. I believe in the magic of the theatre -- things seem to come together magically at the end. I've learned to take a zen approach to it all.
11/29/2009
11/07/2009
Amazing news...
I've had an exhausting week. I know, so have you. It's what we do, right?
First off, the job is hectic. I was looking for something where there's enough work to stay busy (the last two jobs have not had enough to do), so I shouldn't complain. On the other hand, by Friday night, my right thumb felt like it was about to fall off and I couldn't focus my eyes. Computers are great, aren't they? My husband asks me how I can work at one all day and then come home and get right back on. Self-destructive behavior problems? Who knows.
Started rehearsal for "A Tuna Christmas" this week; rehearsed Monday - Wednesday nights from 6:30 to around 9:30. Two really great actors -- I'm feeling really lucky. Had to cut Tuesday's rehearsal short to attend theatre board meeting. Do you think the original spelling of board meeting was "bored" meeting? Talk about a necessary evil.
Finished the week's extracurricular activities with choir practice on Thursday and fun with my grandson on Friday night. Saturday is all for set construction and Sunday we have an extended-family birthday outing. Then start up again next week with more of the same.
Oh, and I found out I'm getting a new grandchild.
I was sitting at my desk about 11 a.m. on Wednesday morning when I got a text message from my oldest on my phone. It was a photo with no actual text -- no explanation, no nothing. The photo was clearly an untrasound image of a baby. A pretty-good-sized baby. Frankly, I was confused. What was he trying to show me? Did he know someone who was pregnant?
My grandson was a surprise. His conception was totally unplanned. I asked my son if he she was the one for him, regardless of the baby, and he said yes, he had planned to marry her anyway. The pregnancy was fairly uneventful, but she had a long labor. After 24 hours or so, they gave her some Demoral so she could rest. That just made it harder for her to manage her labor pain. When the baby was finally born, he had a loop of cord around his neck, causing some initial stress for my son, but everything turned out okay with the baby.
Unfortunately, my daughter-in-law's epidural failed to clot. She went home with a killer headache that only got worse. We finally had to take her to the ER where they took blood from her arm and injected it into the edidural site, creating a "blood patch" that would allow it heal up. She REALLY hates needles, so this was more drama for her.
When the baby was about 2 weeks old, my daughter-in-law suddenly started hemorrhaging. We took her to the ER again. After they got her stabilized and moved to a room, I went back through the ER. The trauma room looked like the scene of a crime. I've never seen so much blood.
So, basically, my daughter-in-law felt that she had done her part in child bearing and has been adamant over the past five years that she did not intend to have any more. In addition, she has continued to have problems related to her reproductive system and assorted birth control methods. At one point, the doctors were talking about performing endometrial ablation, which destroys the lining of the uterus. It is just this side of a hysterectomy but is a permanently sterilizing procedure as well.
Occasionally, my grandson would wish for a sibling. Since he started to kindergarten and discovered that almost everyone else has a sister or brother, he's been wishing it again. He is such a social child, always open to playing with others at the playground, eager to make friends whereever he is, it has always seemed a shame that he would not have a sibling. I value my siblings so much; my feelings for having siblings were the basis for having a second child myself. My daughter-in-law has only one sister who is 8 years older than she. Her sister married and moved away at a young age, leaving my daughter-in-law a veritable only child for most of her life.
I love my daughter-in-law. I respect her decision about her own body. Nobody can judge you about that. I've had plenty of my own health issues, so I know. I had resigned myself to having only the one grandchild from them and hoping for more from my other son and his wife. The ultrasound of a well-developed fetus -- not an embryo as you'd typically see in the first trimester -- was throwing me for a loop.
My son wasn't answering his phone. I called my husband. I was so excited. He got excited. Could this mean what it seemed to mean? After about an hour, I finally got my son on the phone. Yep. They are having a baby. Surprises all around.
My daughter-in-law had been having a lot of back pain. She went to have an MRI on Tuesday. They didn't find anything that could be causing the back pain, but they informed her that the fetus looked fine. Whoa. She was very freaked out, but they reassured her that the MRI would not damage the baby.
When they went the next morning to the doctor, my son said he was very impressed with the 5-year advances in the sonography, until they told him that the baby is 14 weeks!! They were both floored!
So, here we are with another miracle baby on its way, in early May. Not much time to get ready. My grandson is very excited about being a big brother. He's already planning to bring the baby to our house with him for his Friday-night sleep-overs. He promised to show us how to hold the baby.
I don't think I've forgotten how...
First off, the job is hectic. I was looking for something where there's enough work to stay busy (the last two jobs have not had enough to do), so I shouldn't complain. On the other hand, by Friday night, my right thumb felt like it was about to fall off and I couldn't focus my eyes. Computers are great, aren't they? My husband asks me how I can work at one all day and then come home and get right back on. Self-destructive behavior problems? Who knows.
Started rehearsal for "A Tuna Christmas" this week; rehearsed Monday - Wednesday nights from 6:30 to around 9:30. Two really great actors -- I'm feeling really lucky. Had to cut Tuesday's rehearsal short to attend theatre board meeting. Do you think the original spelling of board meeting was "bored" meeting? Talk about a necessary evil.
Finished the week's extracurricular activities with choir practice on Thursday and fun with my grandson on Friday night. Saturday is all for set construction and Sunday we have an extended-family birthday outing. Then start up again next week with more of the same.
Oh, and I found out I'm getting a new grandchild.
I was sitting at my desk about 11 a.m. on Wednesday morning when I got a text message from my oldest on my phone. It was a photo with no actual text -- no explanation, no nothing. The photo was clearly an untrasound image of a baby. A pretty-good-sized baby. Frankly, I was confused. What was he trying to show me? Did he know someone who was pregnant?
My grandson was a surprise. His conception was totally unplanned. I asked my son if he she was the one for him, regardless of the baby, and he said yes, he had planned to marry her anyway. The pregnancy was fairly uneventful, but she had a long labor. After 24 hours or so, they gave her some Demoral so she could rest. That just made it harder for her to manage her labor pain. When the baby was finally born, he had a loop of cord around his neck, causing some initial stress for my son, but everything turned out okay with the baby.
Unfortunately, my daughter-in-law's epidural failed to clot. She went home with a killer headache that only got worse. We finally had to take her to the ER where they took blood from her arm and injected it into the edidural site, creating a "blood patch" that would allow it heal up. She REALLY hates needles, so this was more drama for her.
When the baby was about 2 weeks old, my daughter-in-law suddenly started hemorrhaging. We took her to the ER again. After they got her stabilized and moved to a room, I went back through the ER. The trauma room looked like the scene of a crime. I've never seen so much blood.
So, basically, my daughter-in-law felt that she had done her part in child bearing and has been adamant over the past five years that she did not intend to have any more. In addition, she has continued to have problems related to her reproductive system and assorted birth control methods. At one point, the doctors were talking about performing endometrial ablation, which destroys the lining of the uterus. It is just this side of a hysterectomy but is a permanently sterilizing procedure as well.
Occasionally, my grandson would wish for a sibling. Since he started to kindergarten and discovered that almost everyone else has a sister or brother, he's been wishing it again. He is such a social child, always open to playing with others at the playground, eager to make friends whereever he is, it has always seemed a shame that he would not have a sibling. I value my siblings so much; my feelings for having siblings were the basis for having a second child myself. My daughter-in-law has only one sister who is 8 years older than she. Her sister married and moved away at a young age, leaving my daughter-in-law a veritable only child for most of her life.
I love my daughter-in-law. I respect her decision about her own body. Nobody can judge you about that. I've had plenty of my own health issues, so I know. I had resigned myself to having only the one grandchild from them and hoping for more from my other son and his wife. The ultrasound of a well-developed fetus -- not an embryo as you'd typically see in the first trimester -- was throwing me for a loop.
My son wasn't answering his phone. I called my husband. I was so excited. He got excited. Could this mean what it seemed to mean? After about an hour, I finally got my son on the phone. Yep. They are having a baby. Surprises all around.
My daughter-in-law had been having a lot of back pain. She went to have an MRI on Tuesday. They didn't find anything that could be causing the back pain, but they informed her that the fetus looked fine. Whoa. She was very freaked out, but they reassured her that the MRI would not damage the baby.
When they went the next morning to the doctor, my son said he was very impressed with the 5-year advances in the sonography, until they told him that the baby is 14 weeks!! They were both floored!
So, here we are with another miracle baby on its way, in early May. Not much time to get ready. My grandson is very excited about being a big brother. He's already planning to bring the baby to our house with him for his Friday-night sleep-overs. He promised to show us how to hold the baby.
I don't think I've forgotten how...
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