Would You Like Some Drama With Your Drama?

Is it any surprise that Tobias likes mermaids?

Gilligan???

After spending about 8 weeks with the same group of people, working for hours on making "The Little Mermaid" a successful production, I realize once again that any time you get a bunch of people together, there will be politics and contention.

I've gotten rather good at playing Swedish. 1) When a person from one camp starts to gossip to me about someone in the other camp, I simply smile and change the subject. Perhaps I'm getting a reputation of being a poor conversationalist, but such is the price I pay for keeping my ears clean. 2) If I happen to overhear something that others would find either particularly enthralling or upsetting, I flush it down the mental toilet, never to be seen again. 3) My favorite ploy (which I have yet to use in this specific environment) is to tell person A that person B said something nice about them. (Unfortunately, I have yet to hear persons A or B say anything positive about the other, but if they do so in a moment of dizzying magnanimity, I'll be sure to immediately pass it on.)

Hmmm...anyway, on to the musical itself...

Opening night was last Thursday and it actually went quite well. I was a bit nervous during those last couple of days before it opened because some of the kids still had a ways to go with learning their lines. Somehow, it all got pulled together.

This little sea horse doesn't look ill.

A few of the kids got sick. Delaney was actually throwing up into the toilet at the theater just one hour before the show started. She was determined to go through with her part, though. I didn't really want her to for fear that she might unload again on stage (some guy with a video camera in the front row might have become $10 K richer via AFV), but she was so determined that I felt unjustified in telling her no. (Besides, I don't think there was anything else left in her poor little tummy.) I thought it was just nervousness, but then I found out that several other kids had it, too.

So, now the kids have four performances under their belt and they've got 6 more to look forward to.

SOMETHING SUPER EXCITING!!!

Okay, for those of you who don't know...every year, I plan our family summer vacation and surprise Jeff and the kids. They know when we're going, but they don't know where, how, who we'll see, or what we'll do.

Well, our trip is just around the corner and I think they're all really going to be surprised (in a good way!) this year. I've already skillfully planted some seeds in their heads that will soon germinate into joyful understanding as they vacation and look back on the last month or so.

Sorry, but I can not disclose any of the gorgeous details about our trip for obvious reasons. Don't worry, I'll be posting about it all post-vacation to the point that I just might bore you to tears...