Even though I cannot wait to see (and have you all see) the magnificent photos of Chicago’s Listen To Your Mother show (courtesy of the mucho talented Brandi Lee of Balee Images and her supra-fabulous cohort Elizabeth Rago), I’m gonna make do with some spiffy little cell phones to help with my recap.
Brace yourself, they’re stunning[ly small].
So. The day was a whirlwind of rehearse, gawk at each other, pretend one’s stilettos weren’t breaking oneself, rehearse, eat some positively cracktacular “trail mix” (can I take that on my next “hike,” Melisa?), pacepacepace, step out onto that glorious stage…and kill it.
This is what I look like if you’re sitting in the wings.
In case you ever wondered.
And we did. Every single last one of us. The heartbreaking pieces pulled tears out of parts of my face I was surprised I had. The hilarious ones nearly broke my rib. The poetic ones made me want to curl up in a down comforter and have someone braid my hair. (Okay, full disclosure: lots of things make me want to do that.) But here’s my point- everyone showed up ready to rock, and they took it to 11.
Maybe it was the energy from the (incredibly supportive and vocal) crowd, perhaps it was the shivertastic vibe from performing in a space as glorious as the Athenaeum Theatre (seriously, if you’ve never stood on that stage and looked around at the gilded glory, I highly recommend), or it might just have been the knowledge that this was it, that we had this one and only show, so we’d better bring it.
Whatever it was, it worked. Stepping out onto that stage into those bright lights and feeling the love from both the audience and the sisters chilling in the wings- I’ve gotta tell you, it felt pretty darned good.
My piece- Just Wait, a response to well-meaning parents who bestow advice upon frazzled new parents- was a blast to read. There were moments where I felt like a stand up comedian. There were moments where I felt like I were giving a TED Talk. Heck, there were even moments where I felt like a good parent. (Not too shabby for a five minute monologue, yeah?)
And then, just like that, it was over. The audience loved on us, we loved on the audience, we high-fived and hugged and kissed and celebrated with LTYM alums, a group picture was taken, and I even met Listen To Your Mother founder Ann Imig, who trekked to Chicago to see our lovely little show.
No shocker, she was awesome.
And then we after-partied. My date for the evening was my longtime partner in crime Bethany, as P.J. needed to head back home. (Hey, someone’s gotta watch the children. Wait, THE CHILDREN!) So we pizza’d and bloody-mary’d and basked a tad more.
If Bethany says it’s cool to drink a bloody mary at 5pm, you drink a bloody mary at 5pm.
I followed this up by coming home in a stupor of what just happened and proceeded to have a bit of a social media hangover for the next two days.
I am so in love with this show, you guys. (And can’t wait for everyone to see the vids this summer.) I am so enamored of the friends who spent their Sunday with us. And I’ve never, ever been more proud of motherhood.
“Pre-school Mom Friends” Barbara, Renee, and Megan- who totally got elevated to Amazingly Awesome Friends.
Considering that I write about that whole shebang nearly daily, that’s no small statement.
Thanks oh-so much to our producers Tracey and Melisa, the gorgeous cast, all of the loved ones who facilitated us being out of the house as much as we were, and to our kids. And to our Moms. Even though my Mom wasn’t able to be there, she told me that she knew it would be amazing.
She was right.
And you should always listen to your mother, you know.
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