Hangin' in and hangin' on

It's been awhile, but then again, a lot has been keeping me busy.  I'm grateful for a "slow-down" time so that I can catch my breath because it looks like I'm in for a wild ride of challenges.  At least, that's how 2014 has begun so far.

The spiral began December 16th with a lovely (*sarcasm*) fall on the ice.  Yep!  There I was, flat on my back, everything I was carrying in my arms, all scattered around me.  It was after 9:30 p.m, dark, cold, snowy and icy, and of course, my cell phone was dead.  It was a very good thing that my husband just happened to be walking down the stairs at the time and saw me out the window or who knows how long I could have been out there, lying on the ground!  It was not the best time for an injury, but I got through it.  It wasn't until two pain-filled months later that it was discovered that the knee had been fractured and the ACL Ligament was torn away. No worries!  Even when bad things happen, there are always blessings.  You just have to look a little harder.

1. My husband found me right away, was able to help me into the house to assess injuries and then for the trip to the hospital.
2. One of the items in my arms was what I call "my magic pot".  It had been a Christmas present from my mom the previous year.  Thank GOD! it was still in working order.  I use it a LOT for fast, home-cooked meals for my family and our busy schedule.
3. The family Christmas Weekend wasn't scheduled until two weeks away so I had a little bit of time to heal and great friends who came over to help me with the cleaning chores and laundry.
4. As soon as I got the OK from the doc, my butt was at the gym, strength training and that helped immensely with the healing process.
5. It healed enough that I could be on my feet by the time rehearsals were scheduled to begin, though I had to be mindful of how I moved and to "take-it-easy".  A huge challenge for me since I'm not known to be a person that even knows the definition of that!

Fast forward....the knee is still in the recovery process.  It's much better, but is still giving me trouble with range of motion etc.  I'm sure it will continue to improve.  I am awaiting results from a second MRI.

During the last part of the year, prior to the knee injury, I had committed to being "Guest Director" for the Stow Munroe Falls Kimpton Middle School.  It was an honor, I was excited about the challenge and the fact that it would be my first "paid" Directors gig!  The timing worked out perfectly because it would not overlap the 4th Annual Mystery Dinner Theater Production.  At least I thought it wouldn't.  There's a quote about "best laid plans"?  Another about "Make Plans & God laughs"?  You got it!  There were scheduling complications which resulted in lots of challenges throughout the rehearsal process of "Dorothy in Wonderland"!


It was a horrendous winter.  For the first time in years, we used ALL of our snow calamity days and then some!  This was a significant reason that the performance dates had to be pushed forward, causing the middle school show to overlap the rehearsal schedule for the Mystery Dinner Theater.  

Despite the intense work schedule, the numerous complications and challenges, it was worth it.  I had been working with nearly 80 students and though frustrated at times, (middle schoolers, after all! Got one myself!) I was so very  proud of all of them when we got to performance time.  They worked so hard and there were so very many compliments received from audience members who attended!

There was also one other little thing that was going on at this crazy time!  My beautiful daughters, Mackenzie & Maura, are also involved in theater and both of them had roles in a very cute theatrical production, Dr. Doolittle.  Mackenzie was playing "Pull-u", 1/2 of the two headed llama, and Maura was "Dab-Dab", the duck.  Hats off to my friend, Liz Hickman, for having the courage to Direct a cast of nearly 50 for her family gala and most of them were children!  The girls did a fabulous job as did the entire cast and it was a wonderful performance.

On to the next project!  Though I have had overlapped theater projects before, it was usually an acting project doubled with a directing project....never TWO directing projects!  Complicated by the fact the mystery dinner theater shows are original scripts of shows built from the ground up, let's just say that it was stressful but always enjoyable!  I am extremely grateful to the cast and crew of "The Mysterious Case of the Mournful Cowboy".  Without their support, I would have LOTS MORE gray hair!  Thank GOD I don't have to use TWO boxes of hair color!  LOL!

The Cast & Crew of "The Mysterious Case of the Mournful Cowboy"
Act-It UP! Community Theater's 4th Annual Mystery Dinner Theater
Photo Courtesy of my very good friend, Mark Brown

Just as we were heading into Dress & Tech Week for the dinner theater, my family received some difficult news.  My mom, who had been in remission from breast cancer since she fought it in 2010, shared with us that her cancer has returned.  The news, of course, is devastating for our family.  As a result of that news, my sister, my mom, and I planned and whirlwind trip to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.  It was something mom wanted to do so we did it!  The very day after the final performance of "The Mysterious Case of the Mournful Cowboy", I headed out West to share an adventure with them.

The delightful off-the-highway small town stop, Hillrose.
This little restaurant/general store is called the Open Season Restaurant.

None of us know what the future holds.  True to the name of this blog and what life has been like in recent months....Life! Expect the Unexpected!  Good things, bad things...that's life...and sometimes bad things happen to good people.  It's just the way it is and you have to take the good right along with the bad.  You can choose to drown in the "bad" or pick yourself up and focus on the good mixed in between.

Hangin' in and Hangin' on....living in faith and knowing that no matter the storm....God has got my back and is walking right along with me.

There's more to me than meets the eye!  Check out:
AVON Business Blog
Act-It UP! Community Theater
Faith Musings Etc.