June is half way over?

It is officially Summer.  That is if you want to know about my Seasons. 
It is Summer for the Pelicano Kids.  They're bored, and that is the true indication.
I had the pleasure of accompanying my friend to the Mayo Clinic last week so I missed the first week of Summer Vacation, but I was hit with the second week, both barrels!
I haven't had a job in a very long time.  I mean a real, I have to go to the office, job.
I've had a million responsibilities, but no clock to punch.  Now I have the addition of a clock to punch in order to be paid for the job I do at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts in Fountin Inn.|
That has been a big adjustment for the kids.  I understand.  They'll get there.

This week we prepare for a trip to the Isle of Palms. It is a beautiful little island off the coast of Charleston, SC.  I love it there for all the things it isn't.  It isn't commercial, it isn't busy, and it isn't trendy.  We will frolic in the sand and languish in the sun and it will remind me that there are no better times than those that are unscheduled.
It will remind me that the small footprints in the sand become large footprints in the sand all too soon.
It will remind me that for one week this Summer, we are free, with the wind in our hair.
I love that about our life.

On the Day That You Were Born

...The angels got together.  You know the song.
It was Lukie's song  from the moment I laid eyes on him.
He was born chin first, a different kind of breach.  There was great distress and neo-natal team at the side of the bed as he was born and he was whisked away after hours of real fear that we could lose him as his face was hyper-extended and in no "position" to be born.
He was born, after the doctor told me, in my very quiet mild hysteria, which is my usual response to such dramatic circumstances, "You can do this," and I did it.
I have come to realize that it is my mild panic that allows me to focus on the crisis at hand, if it's a facial presentation at birth, a Stage 2b Breast Cancer Diagnosis, a Tumor the size of a Coconut in the abdomen of my four year old, I get focused and there is no more crisis, I've got it.  No matter what it is, it's within my grasp.  There is a moment when I decide, I've got this, and I do.
Lucas was the first conscious manifestation of that response..."fight or flight?"  I'm Irish. Enough Said.
I fight.
So there he was.  He was mistaken for the wrong baby by our African American Nurse who thought that he was not my child because he too, looked African American.  She questioned the delivery room nurse before she would move us to our room.  He was a funny shade of black and blue that would only intensify over the next few days before he turned that crazy brownish yellow that bruises turn before they disappear.
He transformed into the most breathtakingly beautiful baby by virtue of the contrast to his debut.
Lucas is a treasure.
He has been a joy to love since he got here, and I will always be grateful that I was able to provide Zachary with the baby brother that he silently longed for and Regan the protector that will be with her forever. My middle children have a bond that is unmistakable.
I celebrate this day as the day that I got my Bonus Boy.  That was fourteen years ago.
Don't ask me where that time has gone, but I do know it's gone.
I am blessed to know him, and the Bonus is, I'm his Mom.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day Loaded with created expectation for a celebration by virtue of a Title. Mother's Day for me occurs four times a year. March 2. July 7. May 23. September 30. We celebrate the births of my children and I celebrate the moment that we met. The moment I first held them in my arms and we looked into each other's eyes. Sacred. We went to Brunch last Sunday. I love Brunch. David sent flowers to my office this week, but the card read "Just Because." Today I will lay my eyes on my four children and my bonus daughter because it's Sunday. It's customary to spend our Sunday evenings together when we can. I will look at each of their faces and remember that first moment when I introduced myself and made the promise to love them forever. They don't make a greeting card for that.

The Right Side Of History

Today President Obama came out (pun intended) in support of Same Sex Marriage.
Here is what I think.
I believe in love.  I believe in the dignity of all human beings. I believe that prohibiting rights of
any citizen in a "free" country is deplorable.

I believe that President Obama will be on the right side of history on this issue.
I will continue to pray for tolerance.

Love transcends Constitutional Amendments, of this I am sure.

Two in a row

The last month of school...Regan finishing her Freshman year, Lucas preparing for his.
Where has the time gone?  Rosey will be going into third grade.
Today we shopped at the Book Fair at Rosey's school.  Looking at titles and age recommendations makes me think of how quickly the time goes.
Zachary is 25.  How did it happen?
As I sit her in this living room in our little house in Fountain Inn, I am more sure than ever that I need to be present.  Rosey is on her computer next to me, and David is reading on the Nook...Jack is sleeping, and Lucas is downstairs watching something on his computer.  We are all in one place, except for Regan who is out with Anita at The Sound Of Music with Carter.  They're seeing the show directed by a friend of Anita's and mine.  I decided to stay home to keep a promise to Rosey.  I've been out of the house for three weeks in production of Bye Bye Birdie and doing interviews for our new Season.
This week required home, cooking, cleaning and just being together.
The rest can wait. 

Here I go...again

May 1st.  Sooner than I thought. I was planning a Facebook Break, but it came sooner than I had imagined.  I took the Summer off last year, but this year, I needed a longer break.
I love my life. I love my job. I love it all.
I just need to figure out how to balance it all so I can feel the love every day, and not feel so tired sometimes.
Wanna help me?  Wanna cheer me on?
I want to hear from my friends from "the old days" Sheri, Marty, Nell, Barbara, Janene, Terri, Victoria, everyone from RCK, all of you matter to me.
My long distance friends and family that have found me on Facebook, I don't want to be out of touch.
I just don't want to let anything take my time.
My time is so precious that I shouldn't have to weed through the posts on my "timeline" to be connected to people that I care about.
For my everyday people...my F.I.R.E. People...we're a team.
We're beyond family, we work together to make the world better.
Let me know...
Let me know why you're here reading it.
Let me know what you want to talk about.
Let me be in your life by choice, not because I turn up on your news feed.
What a wonderful world we live in that we can connect in such a way.
I'm going to try to really share what's in my heart.
Scared?

All this going on, and I get to wear a sweater!

If you know me, you know that I have a lot of clothes in my closet.  If you really know me, or if you've just seen me by accident, you know that I almost always wear Jeans and a Black shirt of some sort...
Now Fall/Winter is a bit different.  I might actually change the color of the shirt because of the number of sweater choices I have...
Today, I'll get to wear a sweater.  It might be black, or even grey, or it could even be brown. 
I'm actually looking for a sweater in the perfect shade of teal.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Now...back to what's going on.
We have moved to Simpsonville South Carolina to afford our kids the opportunity to attend schools that we think match well with our Educational/Social goals for our particular family.
This was not an easy decision, it required leaving the home that we love dearly in Easley.
We're in a transition as we decide what life will look like for the next 5 years.
Regan is a Freshman in High School, and Lucas will be, next year. 
We would like to stay here for the length of their High School Experience, if it's meant to be.

That's what's going on with my family.

I am much closer to the Theatre, geographically which has made the past two months easier.
We have finished our first show of the season, Footloose. We are currently in production of three shows; Dear Edwina Jr., The Odd Couple Female Version, and A Wonderful Life.
I am directing Dear Edwina Jr. with a cast of 39 kids oldest 16 youngest 6.
Regan and Rosey are both in the show and Lucas will be running the lights.
It have enjoyed this experience, so much so that I have surprised myself.
Looking forward to Friday when we open.

I am cast as Florence Unger in The Odd Couple.  Zachary is the Director and we're having a lot of fun working this one.  It is a full circle moment, as my counterpart is the mother of the guy who played opposite Zachary when he acted as Oscar Madison in High School, directed by Anita, the Producer of our show.  Mackensie & Zachary met during that production in 2001, and Mackensie is Sylvie in our show at F.I.R.E.  You don't ever know who will be in your life, or for how long you'll have them.
In this case, we've all been together for a good long time and it's working.

I am the Production Assistant for A Wonderful Life and am looking forward to seeing Zachary as he plays George Bailey, the iconic character brought to life on film by Jimmy Stewart. It is a soulful story and I know it will be told beautifully by our Company.

That's what's going on in Fountain Inn at the Center for the Visual and Performing Arts....

I am feeling strangely at loose ends...as busy and content as I am, I feel like something should change.
I haven't put my finger on what, or how, but I think something's coming.
I am trying to find a job to help supplement our living expenses.  That might require some looking, as I haven't worked since before Regan was born 14 years ago. 
There is the conundrum...I haven't worked for a living, but I have worked at F.I.R.E. for the past four years. My resume is packed with experiences that don't translate well to the job market.
Before F.I.R.E. I was a "full time" volunteer at all of the kids schools, and also a regular volunteer at the South Carolina Children's Theatre.  Those contributions are of little benefit when a paycheck is being sought.  It's a strange problem to have.  All my "creative contributions" amount to nothing measurable to anyone but myself.
I know that I've seen shy kids blossom. I know that I've watched a Repertory Acting Company grow exponentially in the quality of the Productions that it presents.  I know that I have made friends that will last my whole life.  I know that my children have seen what it means to be committed to something that you love and stick it out even when it gets tough. I know a lot of stuff about myself and the world in which we live...
Translate that to a resume, and I might just find a way to earn some money for my family...and support the husband who has spent all these years indulging my theatre pursuits...
Therein lies the rub ~