Blog Party for Artsy Moms – Join the Fun!
By Deb
Today I’m participating in a “blog party,” hosted, as you can see from the graphic above, by Moms’ Talk Network. The topic of the day is Artsy Moms. While I’ve done my share of hand crafts, from quilting to beading, to crocheting and tole painting, my first love has always been singing and acting, especially in musical theatre.
I’ve been performing on stage since I was 14. As a military wife, I didn’t have many opportunities to perform overseas, so that part of my life went away, and so did a huge part of my soul. When my daughter and I moved back to Ohio in late 2000, after I got tired of licking my wounds in the “cave” of my mother’s home, the first thing I did to get myself out of the house was to audition for a Neil Simon serio-comedy called “Proposals.” That was early 2001. My daughter was 13 and happy to see me starting to have a life again.
Since then I have reprised that same role (Clemma) with another theatre troupe, directed and starred as Florence in Old Couple – Female Version, “channeled” Mother Superior in Nunsense II and Nuncrackers, played Sister Sophia in The Sound of Music, was featured in Baby the Musical in a 5-part women’s ensemble, and portrayed Mrs. Potts, the teapot, in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in two different cities.
The last 4 years I’ve done strictly semi-professional productions, working with phenomenal actors, directors, and musicians. The two weeks prior to production are always the most stressful, and invariably we look at each other and ask, “Are we having fun yet?”
And then it somehow comes together just when it should. And suddenly we’re striking the set and heading out to the cast party and then moving on with our lives, no longer with those people who have been like family for 5 or 6 weeks.
Getting back into theatre helped to get me through the last vestiges of over two decades of clinical depression (a direct result of having denied my artistic gifts during that time). Even though I can’t make a living at acting, just having it as a creative outlet is enough to feed the part of my being that eats, drinks and sleeps musical theatre.
I’ve come a long way from the 16-year old girl who starred as Nellie Forbush in South Pacific in 1966, but my love of performing hasn’t diminished. I am most at home when I’m on stage, making people laugh and cry and be transported for a time from their own cares, to a place of enjoyment. To me, that’s a win-win combination.
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Meme – Why I Love Working at Home
By Deb
And the Meme Goes On… Yeah, the Meme Goes On…
I’ve been “tagged” by Internet marketing “sweetie” Alice Seba to carry on this Meme begun by Work-at-home-mom-preneur Kelly McCausey. Thank goodness I’m not limited in giving only one reason why I like working at home, because I’m not sure I could narrow it down to one item.
My Top 10 Reasons Why I Love Working at Home
- I enjoy the freedom and flexibility that a home office affords. Others have said this, but it bears repeating. If I absolutely had to choose one answer, this would be it.
- It allowed me to homeschool my DD for a number of years.
- I don’t have to take off from work or use up precious vacation days when my DD comes home three times a year on break from college now.
- It gave me the opportunity to hone my writing skills by “applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair” full time for 5 years. I think that’s a Hemingway quote, but don’t…well…quote me on that.
- I can tune into the Mom’s Morning Show every weekday and network with a growing list of online friends who are work-at-home moms. These are some incredibly savvy business women and I’m thrilled to be among them to rub cyber elbows and just to connect on a human level.
- I can participate in Lynn Terry’s Self-Starters Weekly Tips’ Tuesday webinar and the new Thursday “open mike” brainstorming session with Elite forum members. (It’s the best investment I ever made in my online business — no exaggeration and affordable even for those on limited budgets! I can’t begin to tell you the amount of help and support this group has brought me in the past 8 months.)
- I am free to keep working through the late night hours and sleep when the work is done — not according to a schedule imposed upon me. That said, I need to make a comment here. I may be FREE to do this, and last night was one of those nights, but I try not to do it too often. I’m a creature of habit when it comes to sleeping, and prefer the routine I’ve established of rising early (without the nagging alarm), napping if needed in the afternoon, and working until midnight.
- I don’t have to shave my legs, do my hair or put on makeup until I have to face the “real” world.
- I can work half nekkid in early June heat (Aargh! It’s too early for 90 degrees…)
- If a friend wants to go garage sale-ing on a Friday (prime time around here), or any other non-work-related activity, I can take the day off to play without guilt.
So now I will pass the baton to a good friend and mentor, Lynn Terry. Take it away, Lynn. Why do YOU like working at home?
