Summer in the 'burbs...

So, it works like this. Someone will tell me that they enjoy reading my blogs, and it has an adverse affect--I get slightly embarassed and sheepish and then don't blog for months on end. Or I'll replay every silly navel-gazing posting I've ever spewed, and wonder if I should delete the whole damn thing.

But maybe I'm thinking just a bit too much. It's a goofy little blog, not The Huffington Post, for gosh sakes.

So, a brief update: summertime is here, which is a simply blissful time for teachers. (See the pic of our garden, the labor of NR's love, as proof of said bliss!)

We've joined the Y in an attempt to be active--we no longer walk hither and yon like we did in NYC. I have no desire to get buff, but I would like to walk up a flight of stairs without wheezing like Patty & Selma!

I'm teaching storytelling and improv in the mornings at Summer Stage, to children who've just finished 5th grade. A really sweet age--they still have that wonderful optimism that has yet to be crushed by junior high. :( It's very strange to be back at UDPAC (the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center), a place that was my holy temple as a child, after such a long hiatus. Strange, but comforting.

The Teege is doing GREAT, of course. We're really enjoying taking him to the playground, doing little art projects, going swimming, etc. I am so thankful that our schedules allow us to spend this time with him--it's extremely precious. He's such a funny kid. I actually miss him when he goes to sleep...so of course I have to check on him every hour until Mommy's bedtime. :)

I'm still writing for Philadelphia Maven, which is a terrific creative outlet. I absolutely love meeting and writing about these rockstar women--I always leave my interviews on an inspirational high. It's such an honor to give them the recognition they've earned.

I had the chance to audition for a play, but decided against it. One of the performances falls on Halloween, and I'm just not going to miss dragging my child around in an embarassing costume! But I also didn't feel the NEED to do it. It's funny--people always said that everything changes once you have a child, but I never believed it. I was always determined that I would keep as much of my old life as I could once I entered mommyhood. But now if I have to choose between sitting in a theater with a bunch of pretentious actors (okay, they're not ALL bad!) or watching Teege stuff Legos in his mouth...I'm gonna choose the latter. Besides, I have plenty of other ways to keep my synapses crackling--teaching, writing, yoga--that keep me quite busy these days.

I had this same attitude towards acting back in college. I felt like it was great fun, but not productive enough. I found a lot more satisfaction in teaching it or directing. I remember writing this very pompous piece for Fr. Burch's class called "The Player Queen," about my issues with the actor-audience relationship.

I'm sure at some point the "roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd" (yes, that's actually the phrase I meant to write!) will lure me back. But for now, I'm very content co-starring in "The Chronicles of Teege." :D