So I am "back"--the show is over, the checks have been mailed, the lighting instruments have been returned, the costumes are at the drycleaner's...and C is having fun being Mother of the Year to the little Muffin. B's show opens tonight, though, so we will be spending lots of family time in the theatre again this weekend. But theatres are great fun for toddlers: lots of wide, empty lobbies, big windows, applauding audiences, people-watching galore...and comfy seats up in the lighting booth!

Here is a picture of the cast of "The Secret Garden"--2007 edition!

Lucy was a gem this past week. She stayed up all day on Sunday--through the entire matinee, sans nap--and then came to the cast party, where Little Miss Bright Eyes stood on a table and bopped to the music and applauded each performer. Yes, you get two dozen musical theatre performers together in a house with a grand piano upstairs, a karaoke cabaret space downstairs, and a full bar--and tons of energetic performances will ensue!!

It was great fun. Sunday's show was sold out, the cast received a well-deserved standing ovation from the entire audience, and tears were flowing onstage and off. It was a good run, and I couldn't be prouder of the cast and crew. I feel blessed to call them friends, and I am looking forward to having Lucy around interesting, passionate people as she grows up.

I was discussing (complaining? whining about?) that ever-tricky dance of parenting and producing theatre with a friend, and she said "It sounds like you're working on finding the balance between motherhood and work." I have been thinking about this, and I don't agree. There IS no "balance"--I'm a mom 24/7, and I'm fundamentally changed from the person I was pre-Lucy. There is no "balance" being an artist, either. The urge to create is inside of me and hasn't left since I became a mom; it seems like it has just grown stronger.

I refuse to go crazy chasing after that "life balance" everyone talks about. I don't think that "balance" exists. I don't believe in it. But I do believe in joy. I get a fresh dose of that every morning when I wake up surrounded by my awesome husband, snuggly baby, and the occasional cat.

Lovin' it all.