"Sorry all. I am going to be suspending my blog for the next three weeks or so. Life hit, and I want to focus my energies where I need to. I'm having an absolute blast working on the school musical, but it's quite the time-suck. In the meantime, words of encouragement go a long way. Once the school musical is over, I will be back here blogging away. Love you all!"Well, I'm nearing the end of spring break (Stuart and I took the week off together), and I'm finally feeling relaxed. I frequently forget what that feels like. For those of you who know me personally, I tend to wear the weight of the world on my shoulders, and I don't slow down for anything. So when particularly busy times come, I handle them well, but I don't stop. At all. Ever.
What you don't know is that while the musical was going on (which was fabulous!) Stuart and I had some issues on the home front. Our baby girl and our baby boy (Darwin the dachshund) were going through some medical issues at the same time that Stuart's grad school picked up and I was in the month leading up to the show. I don't usually share the more personal side of my life with people, but over the next few days, I'm going to use this blog as an outlet. I want to share with you some of the emotion that was going on, and some of the reflections and realizations that have come out of it. In the course of this week, I hope to catch up on a month of news and life in the Bankey household.
I was practically raised on stage between all the dance shows, school productions, and plays that I've been a part of, but I haven't been active in theater since my freshman year in college. That means 10 years away from one of the things that brings me the greatest joy. The fun part this time was being behind the scenes. As a director you get to share your passion and creativity with the next generation; you get inspired by your cast's talent and dedication; you get to reflect on all the great theater memories from your past; you get joy.
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| Our fantastical Cat in the Hat! (used with permission) |
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| My lovely Whos in Whoville. They are behind their umbrella 'clover'. Faces are blocked to protect the innocent :) |
I also got a perfect reminder of how loved I am and how much I love my family. The busier I got with the show, the more my husband, mom, and mother-in-law showed me their support. I don't tend to ask for help, so more often than not help is imposed upon me, and during February my family lovingly asked me to accept their help with baby-duty. Stuart took on extra duties at the house, including more pick-ups and drop-offs of baby girl at day care. This is way of out his way to work, but was a huge help to me on the late nights. My mom took on extra shifts as babysitter on top of her crazy schedule. She even came into the city numerous times to swap out our cars so that she could pick up Corgan from day care and take her home when Stuart was in class and I had a late practice. My mother-in-law also chipped in to the babysitting, not to mention the cooking! We had a few days when Corgan couldn't go to day care (more on that tomorrow), so Janet came over to the house to watch the child so Stuart and I could go to work, and she cooked for us! There is nothing like coming home after a long day to a homemade King Ranch Chicken casserole or from-scratch chicken cacciatore!
Philip, Stuart's brother and Corgan's Godfather, even stepped up! He and his girlfriend babysat for us on the second night of the show so that mom, Janet, and Stuart could attend together. This was his first time ever babysitting, and he came through with flying colors. He is such a blessing in my daughter's life whether he knows it or not. She is so lucky to have someone who loves her so unconditionally. I also got a kick out of him learning how to change her diaper and apply diaper cream :) I died when I heard Philip's reactions: "Wait! I have to touch her girly parts?," and "Time to frost her cupcake!" Ah, now that's love!
Keith, Elizabeth, and I are already talking about what show we are going to do next year, and our wheels are already turning! We're so excited to see what our talented students will be able to do next year, and I'm ready to welcome the madness.
P.S. I'm working on getting photo permission from some of the parents to share on the blog. Since I work for a school, we have a strict media and photo policy which is in part my job to enforce. If I get some 'yes' answers, I'll share some of the photos of our talented cast in a later post!
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