sudden shift
January 11, 2011

My weekend was ticking along peacefully there for a while. A pleasant game night with friends on Friday evening. A few minor shopping errands, various household chores, and general relaxation. But as I was stretched across my bed yesterday afternoon, reading and waiting for the dryer to finish--there was a great disturbance in the force.

I got a text from the Niece. She needed to come over so I could help her with her "stage presence" for her big solo next week. (Meaning: she was supposed to be working on her choreography all weekend, but put it off till Sunday night.) And, of course, Aunt Whyme was the only one who could help her. (I love it when she soft-soaps me!) Apparently, her mom was no help on this, because she doesn't know the show (Wicked) or understand the character (Glinda), or even quite get just what is needed here (a little stage direction). And Mom, bored and frustrated, finally responded with "Your aunt was a theatre major--ask her!"

Well, of course I told her yes, even though I haven't given anyone notes in years. I have a reputation to maintain with this kid; I'm not permitted to let her down. So she drove into town, shared our dinner, helped herself to a big bowl of chocolate ice cream, used my computer to check her facebook, had me locate (and order, of course) some books online that she had remembered owning before the tornado, and wanted to replace, talked to her dad on the phone, invited him over...and, finally, got around to working on her number. And we made some good progress on it, despite her dad, and her uncle, and the dog, and all the other distractions.

What amazed me is that she has been singing this song (Popular) since she was twelve, and had never considered what the character was thinking or feeling as she sang. She was just now getting around to asking what some of the WORDS meant. (unprepossessing, frank analysis, dialysis). I've gotta say--when my little blonde girl told me she was struggling with it because she "couldn't do ditzy"--I thought she was selling herself short! And I can't believe that her teachers and conductors over the years never made her do this!

The best part of working through the character of the song, and not just the music and lyrics, was seeing her realize that Glinda isn't really ditzy--she's cocky. And, as Niece says--"Oh! I CAN DO COCKY!"

So yeah, it was kinda crazy around here last night. I wasn't thrilled to see my brother-in-law...it's no secret I took Niece, Nephew, and Ex-Sis-In-Law's side and stayed there. But he wanted to see his daughter before he headed back to Indiana, and there was no way I'd ever stand in the way of that. He wasn't there long--he had to go pick up his youngest and head out for home, so it was painful, but at least it was short.

I thought it was rather interesting that Niece, who is neither a big reader or overly sentimental, was feeling very nostalgic for her Doll Family books. She was telling me that she just loved the stories, and if she ever found them again, she was going to buy them for herself, even though she had technically outgrown them. Well, I've been asking her for the last three years if there was anything she had lost that she wanted me to help her replace, and this was actually the first thing she came up with. So while we were talking, I went on Amazon and ordered "The Doll Family" and "The Runaway Dolls". And, as a delightful surprise, a third book in the series that she had never read, "The Meanest Doll in the World". These are books that she will want to share with her own kids someday, so I am pleased that I can get them for her.

Well, like I have a choice, right? I have a hard time saying no to them anyway, but if Niece or Nephew want books, I'm pretty much helpless.

So that was my evening. Instead of spending my Sunday evening doing all the stuff to get ready for the new week, I did...that. Which left me royally screwed come morning, when I was racing around trying to get it all done, and still get to work on time.