kiddos

Spending time with people younger than myself has been a constant thread in my life. I've been a classroom assistant, counselor at the Y, group leader at an outdoor science school, and spent nearly six years teaching music with the Young Americans....
But nothing has come close to the experience I've shared with the kiddos in Belasco Theatre Company. Children 8 to 18 work for a few months to share their joy in performance, and I am the luckiest, getting to fill the position of assistant director. Now teaching, the instruction of song, dance, and performance, has always been a passion, but it is what happens between the notes, between the steps, which keeps me coming back. I love my kids. And I call them MY kids because we're now connected by shared interests and experiences. They ask me about the show, they ask me about their staging and notes, but they also come to me as a mentor, a trusted adult figure. I've been consulted for advice on prom dates, audition songs, family dramas, and friends' depression. Now I'm not saying this to get a pat on the back, far from it. I don't think it's any kind of magic that these kids confide in me. I think it's for the simple fact that I LISTEN. And I make sure they know I'm there to listen. Kids are pretty simple creatures, but so often as adults we blame exterior influences when unable to connect or understand them. Wake up call, folks, we were kids once, too!!! Perhaps it's the fact that I struggled with depression, I longed to be accepted, and I had a passion for performance that I connect with these kids in particular, but I think every one of us is capable of reaching out and helping at least one child. In this world of fast paced, constant stimulating technology, I think one of the greatest gifts we can give is time spent with a child. Whether they're 8 or 18, each of them has thoughts, needs, hopes and dreams they long to express. So if you have the means, REACH OUT! You may be surprised how easy and rewarding it can be!

At the root of it all....going back to my roots.

I sit at a table surrounded my women. I have known some of them for nearly a decade. By nature, I have always been a bit of a tomboy. I feel more comfortable in the company of dudes. Easy going, casual, and drama free…. I relate to that.

But tonight something profound happened. I found myself bonded to this group of women by shared experiences, common beliefs, and similar passions and goals. An experience of female strength I have lacked in other facets of my life. These remarkable ladies have seen me at my highest high and lowest low, and continue to love me completely all the same.

I think that is a feeling I have lacked, or missed, in the past year. The knowledge of a relaxed bond with the same gender is something I have taken for granted, and almost forgotten. But it isn’t being of the same gender which bonds us. It’s our love of music and dance, strength in faith and spirituality, humor and giving nature. We talked about poetry, love, hurt, growth and desires. Where we have been, are now, and where we’d like to be are all parallel and those tracks of life continue to cross and run side by side, building momentum.

Tonight I am grateful for my fellow woman. I've gone back to my roots and they are strong and deeply seeded.

I am blessed.

i know a friend in need....

if you pray then pray for her
she's lost but can be found
when she stands next to the ocean
watching waves roll and pound
she feels they're crashing over her
but keeps her head above
if you pray then pray that she
will find her way through love

if you pray then pray
she'll make it through the darkest night
with strength and perserverance
i know she'll be alright
she'll see the sun a-breaking
over that horizon scene
if you pray then pray
she'll come back home from where she's been