Him: Do you remember the first time I touched you?
Me: Well, I remember the first time it registered, but my memory is not the best in the world, so I won’t even pretend that it was, in fact, the first time. We were sitting in your car after you drove me to my car, the day of the Christmas parade. And we were talking. And you put your hand on my leg. And I thought I was gonna lose it.
Him: Yeah, that’s the first time I remember too.
Me: Why do you ask?
Him: Because I can’t remember anything before touching you.
I’m a bit sappy this morning. A lot of it comes from the fact that I had to leave him very early this morning in order to cart my ‘rents to the airport at o’dark:thirty. I hate leaving him while he’s asleep. But he was sleeping very soundly, so I made it thru. Most of my sappiness this morning comes from the fact that I’m so extremely proud of him.
He wanted to do this show, “I Hate Hamlet”, for one-act competition. He LOVES this show. But somehow, the time requirement was never mentioned to him. He knew he would have to cut this two hour show down to a one-act, but somehow he never heard that the set-up, take-down, and actual show must happen within 45 minutes. He missed that memo. Until a WEEK AGO.
So he stressed and cut and cut and stressed until he had whittled the show down. The kids were very accomodating and never even complained. And no matter what they did, they were still running over. And not just a little.. 48 minutes this time, 47 minutes that time.. they were never close.
They did a school performance yesterday. 45:18. Still too much over. He was really stressing out.
Then last night, when I arrived for the performance, something had caught fire in the lobby. So the fire alarm had gone off, Bryan had to extinguish the fire, and the whole lobby smelled of smoke. Add to that one of his cast members has decided to drop out of school and pursue her GED, and he was very, very stressed.
I sat with Viv and prayed that everything would be okay.
Before the show started, I saw him walk to the front of the auditorium. Now, all of you know that I abhor directors that talk before their show. I think it’s unnecessary stage time, and I immediately think less of the director. Viv agreed with me. But Bryan was simply explaining the way the show would run, explaining the timing delimma, and basically laying down the rules and why the audience should not freak out when someone yelled, “LEE HIGH SCHOOL: YOUR TIME BEGINS NOW” before the show. He handled himself beautifully.
And at the end of the show, which went VERY well, the curtain finally swung open to reveal a cleared stage. Bryan again made his way to the front, and yelled up to the stage manager, “Okay, what was the time?”
I thought, “Holy hell, why set yourself up for failure in front of all of these parents?”
Cody the stage manager yelled, “Forty-two fifteen.”
And I could NOT have been more proud. I can’t wait to stand with him on Saturday.
