Month: April 2007

Ear Infection again…

Alice had a fever yesterday, and as I was loading her up in the car this morning to take her to preschool, it was back. So I cancelled all of my morning and early afternoon tutoring, and took her to the doctor.

She has an infection in her right ear, which has always been the Problem Ear. He couldn’t tell if the tube was out or not because there was too much gook in there, but the ear was definitely infected. Her left ear was clear, and he pulled out a glob of wax and there was the tube!

So. We’ll put her on this course of antibiotics and see how it goes… If she gets another ear infection immediately after finishing her antibiotics (as she always has in the past), we’ll go straight to the ENT and skip the pediatrician. I hope she can get through the summer without getting tubes again, though — it would be way cool to be able to teach her how to swim and not have to worry about earplugs or whatever. 🙂

Once again, Alice is completely asymptomatic except for the fever. And that’s only apparent because she’s a little muted and her eyes are a bit watery. But that just means she’s acting like any OTHER almost-three-year-old, instead of being the typical Hell On Wheels that she usually is. Ha!

Yesterday, I did something I have never done before…

I turned down a part in a play.

Another group in town is doing “The Secret Garden” again, and I absolutely love that show. I haven’t been on stage since 2001 (and I haven’t auditioned for anything since last time I did “The Secret Garden”), so I’m a little rusty. Having children has made my voice a little higher, so I decided to try for Lily, the lead female, knowing full well that I don’t have the breath support to sing that high because being a soprano is so new to me.

When I filled out the form, I indicated that I would only accept Martha or Lily

If I had auditioned with an alto piece, I would have gotten a callback, but I didn’t. I sang one of Lily’s songs and shook like a leaf the entire time — totally terrified even though I knew everyone on the casting committee. I did the dance fine, but didn’t get invited to callbacks, which were last night. Jerry’s boss also tried out, and he was surprised I didn’t get a callback, but I wasn’t: as I said to him, I’m not strong enough for Lily and I’m too old to play Martha now.

Last night, after callbacks were over, I got a phone call from the director, asking me to be one of the chorus parts. She said, “I know you said just Martha or Lily, but I’d love to see you back onstage again, and this would get you in the swing of things again. Your voice is so good — just underused.”

I turned her down, saying that because I tutor at night, it would be too much of a financial burden to shift my schedule for rehearsals, especially right before final exams. I’d do it for a big part, but I couldn’t justify it for a small one — I’d lose about $200 in income a week.

Not to mention I’m scheduled for surgery on May 21, and I’d have to move that, too.

And the rehearsal schedule is BRUTAL — Monday, Tuesday, Thursday nights and all day every Saturday. Yeah. Jerry would so love THAT.

Took me a long time to calm down to go to sleep last night, even though I was exhausted from Paducah Day (which was awesome — I’ll talk more about that later)… I went to bed early, but probably didn’t go to sleep until just before I normally go to sleep anyway. It really bothers me to have turned down a part, even though I absolutely know without a doubt that it was The Right Thing To Do.

Sometimes responsibilities suck, you know?

Nightmare Parenting Story #563

My side of an IM conversation tonight:

I took Helen to see Pinocchio tonight, put on by the local children’s theatre organization that I have been involved with for 22 years.

Cute show. First half, anyway. (More on why I only have an opinion on the first half shortly)

One of my best friends wrote the adaptation and directed it, and a lot of good friends are in it/involved with it somehow.

Mom and Helen saw it last weekend, and she loved it, so I bought tickets to go tonight.

Today, Helen was so excited playing with Jan (internet friend)’s son Benjamin that she wouldn’t eat lunch. Then we had to talk her into eating dinner, because her tummy was unsettled from being empty.

You see where this is going, don’t you?

After intermission, Helen wanted to sit in my lap

I thought she was tired

So I let her

and five minutes into Act II she started leaning back on me, so I asked her if she wanted to go home

we were in the third row

stadium seating

two rows below us

“Do you want to go home, Helen?”

She nodded, and turned around to snuggle in more (I thought), so I hugged her and happened to have my hand over her cheek/mouth (thank God) as she puked down my shirt.

Twice.

The row in front of us was spared, thankfully, because Helen was cold and wearing my jacket as a blanket, so I used that to catch it…

Our row was spared because I have spent so much of Helen’s life trying to shield the world from her projectile vomit that I have a little too much experience with this

But they MOVED out of the way so we could get out

She dropped her Croc down into the tunnel (it’s a Greek-style theatre — arena seating around tunnels that enter onto the stage), so I had to send an usher to go get it

and we squished out

I hope I kept most of the puke contained in my shirt, bra, and jacket, and by cupping Helen to me, but I don’t know

Jerry met us at the door to strip Helen and bathe her, and I went upstairs to wash it out of my hair, etc

and now I’m doing laundry

All I can say is THANK GOD I knew all of the tech crew at the top of Riser 3 who helped us get down the stairs, get the shoe from Tunnel 3, and the House Manager who asked me where we were sitting as we were leaving. I was embarrassed, but not as much as I would have been, you know?

And I’m glad I hadn’t cleaned out my car today because there were plenty of plastic bags and whatever to cover ourselves with so that the seatbelts didn’t get all coated and gross.

And since I’m leaving at 4:30 am to go to Paducah in the morning, Helen saved me some time — no need for me to take a shower at o’dark ugly, because I ALREADY DID, at 9pm!!!

Yuck.

Poor kid. I guess we won’t be going off the reflux meds quite yet… And we’ll have to keep reminding her that she throws up when she doesn’t eat.

God Moments

About eight or nine years ago, I was frustrated with my church. Jerry and I had been married for a year or two, but there wasn’t really a niche for us in the church. Things were geared either for families with kids or empty nesters — not young adults without kids. I went to a “discernment meeting” where we could voice complaints about this, and I complained. A lot. And then I came home, and there was a message on my answering machine with the timestamp of while I was driving TO the church. The message was asking me to serve as a Lay Eucharistic Minister (chalice bearer) for a three-year term. The rector (priest) nominates people for this ministry, and the Bishop of the diocese signs licenses. So I was honored.

Well. Allrightythen.

When my three-year term was over, I rotated off and just became a Lector (reader) again. After the first year was over, I hoped to be rotated back on as a LEM, and when the training day came and went I realized I hadn’t been asked. I was complaining to my mom about it, feeling down in the dumps, and the phone rang. It was my friend Bob, asking if I’d consider running for the church Vestry (governing council of our parish). I did, and was elected to a three-year term.

When that three-year term was over, I was asked to be a LEM again (YAY!) and I said yes.

On February 21, the father of a childhood friend died, and the ladies of the church called to see if I would be willing to serve as LEM at the funeral. I hadn’t done it in over 4 years, and I knew I’d cry all the way through the funeral. But the widow had specifically requested me. So I accepted the honor, and served at Charlie’s funeral on February 24.

Then, that same evening, after crying all the way through the funeral as I knew I would, I went to the Vestry party that the four of us who were rotating off gave for the new Vestry.

…

It has always amazed me that God always seems to answer me when I wonder what I should be doing next. My first time serving this time around was such an important time for a family that has been very dear to me for all of my life. And I couldn’t have been asked if I hadn’t rotated back on. And I couldn’t have rotated back on if I hadn’t rotated off Vestry. And I wouldn’t have been elected to the Vestry if I had been invited to be a LEM back in 2003.

When one door closes, another one opens. 🙂