Taking a breath

Okay. The show is open. It's going well. Tickets are selling. Reviews are good. Whew.... Whew.... Ahh.... For a second I can breathe.

O my house. My poor house. It's like a hurricane hit it. Every drawer, almost, is stuffed with odds and ends that have no connection to each other and are only randomly assembled. The dining room table is covered with things. And I am so tired. I just want to sleep.

So, the show opened on Oct. 10th. I had three friends staying with me for the opening. It's only now that I can look back on the month and feel somewhat relaxed. I think opening shows is a bit like having a baby. I can't be sure, since I've never had a baby. But it's like...everything gets put off -- everything is secondary to this big event.

I am so happy and proud of my show. Ha! I realize how self-important that might sound. But I really think of it as such a collaberative effort, so many people came together to make it work. It's soooo not just me, but a collection, a history of effort. Oh, the L.A. Times review made me so happy. There are so many awful moments in show business, so many people who don't get it, or so many failed efforts, so many flawed projects. And this show is not free of all those things either. But it's so nice when, for the most part, definately for the most part, it all comes together. I love my crew who works on the show, I love the designers, my producer, Pam did such a fantastic job.

I have found that most of show business is about dissapointment, or about things not turning out like you wished they would. So, when it does turn out good, I think it's important to take a moment to just feel... just feel...good. And so, here I am feeling good.

Wow. Maybe I shouldn't be saying all these things. I'm just realizing, maybe this will seem arrogant. And not every critic loved the show, so it isn't a success in everyone's eyes. But I guess I just feel as if the baby was born, it's healthy and it's going to live and...hurray! Hurray! Hurray!

Now I have to concentrate on other things. The book. What else I want to do. All the details that go into keeping a show going, people coming, etc. But for now I am going to take a few naps.

Last weekend, I didn't do the Saturday show because I had promised a long time ago to host this Catholic Children's Cancer and Emergency center for Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane. So, I did the show on Friday night and headed up to Spokane at six a.m. on Saturday. I had to just pick up Mulan in her pajamas and carry her through the airport fast asleep. She woke up as we were getting on the plane. Let me tell you, carrying a sleeping 35 pound kid and luggage is basically, impossible. I was feeling pretty alone at that moment. Or rather, not alone at all. It felt actually, heavy.

The event was really fun. Several of my high school girl friends were there and I sat with them after I hosted the event. There was a pumpkin carving contest and all kinds of things like that. I think they raised a lot of money. Mulan spent time with her cousins and my mother and brother while I was there. Then, I got home at midnight and turned around and flew back to L.A. with Mulan and then went straight to the theatre for the matinee. I was so tired after this weekend, I couldn't believe it. Then, on Monday night I did "In The Family Way" for the Groundlings 30th anniversary celebration. So, I was really looking at this weekend as the end of this big push this month of getting the show up and then doing all this extra stuff. And it's over! It's over!

I have never come so close to knee-jerk praying as I feel now as the election draws near. Oh Kerry just HAS to win. He just HAS to.
Mulan's fifth birthday is on election day. I have sold her on the idea that her birthday party this year will be having cupcakes at her pre-school with her classmates during lunch. I went so all-out for her birthday last year, and I am so exhausted and out of time and I don't really feel like spending the $. So, I told Mulan that birthdays weren't always a big deal, sometimes you have a small celebration and sometimes it's a big one. She seemed totally okay with it. So, on election day, I'll take her to the polls with me, and then to school and then bring cupcakes to school during lunch. Then, I will be glued to the TV set for the rest of the day. Oh! Oh! Oh! Kerry just has to win, he just HAS to win. Okay, now I am repeating myself.