Damn Waterpail made me cry this morning.  Got me thinking about my Daddy.  This one memory that I have, which is one of my biggest SHOW MY ASS moments (thank God it was around IMP, who knows and forgives me since I’ve been there since I was a wee babe), was during an all-day rehearsal for "Into the Woods".  I was consistently having to make special arrangements because I had such a difficult work schedule (on-air from 11:30
p.m. till nine a.m., then straight to Cricket’s till 2 p.m., then I’d sleep till rehearsal), and an all day rehearsal meant that basically I was there all day to make up what I hadn’t been able to do in earlier rehearsals.  Daddy had been called in at the last minute, when Fred fell ill again, and he had been trying feverishly to learn this one dance step.  It was easy for me to forget that he had missed the earlier weeks of rehearsal we had all been blessed with to get it down, and I was quickly losing patience with him.  I finally snapped at him after rehearsing it for the thousandth time, and it was just beyond him.  And I mean, I SNAPPED.  When I get tired and cranky, I know to keep to myself, but it wasn’t an option here, and I exploded.  In front of everyone.

We had a lunch break, but mine was to be consumed with costuming that I had previously missed.  I stood perfectly still for Debbie for close to 45 minutes, and even she could hear my stomach growling. (It should be noted here that I worked myself far too hard during this point in my life.  I repeatedly passed out from lack of sleep/sustanance/etc.) I was starving, but our break was almost up and I knew I had no time to run and get anything.  I walked out of the costuming shop with ten minutes left in the break, and saw Daddy.

He had brought back Chinese.  And he was waiting for me to eat.  He had sat there, in front of that warm and fragrant food, and had not eaten a bite.  He was waiting to eat.. with his daughter.. who had been such a total bitch to him not but an hour earlier.  If you knew my father, the fact that he had sat in front of food and left it untouched.. that meant SO MUCH to me.  I instantly regretted how I had been for the month that he had been with the show, and I vowed to be more patient with him.  And we sat and ate together, and it was all better.

He’s a great Daddy.  And I’m crying again.

Stupid Waterpail.