The Trials of a Busy Mom

Month: January 2016

New Wheels

My husband is great. However, impulsive he’s not. He’s always trying to use words like “SAVE” and “BUDGET”.

So Monday evening when I saw in a facebook buy and sell group that a guy was selling his 1997 Chevy S10 pickup for $1500, I was intrigued. He wasn’t asking very much, and we’ve been looking for a truck for over a year. I told him I was interested and asked if we could come and see it Tuesday night. Sure, he replied. So, I went to show Ryan the listing and ask if he was interested in going to see it. (Usually this is where he tells me that it is junk for these reasons, and to stop trying to buy things online.) But this time he said, “Wow, that looks like a good deal. The guy’s a mechanic and it looks like he’s maintained the truck really well.” But then the guy replied and said, “Not a problem, I do have one kid who wants to come look at it tonight and if it does sell then I’ll let you know.” To which I replied, “Ok, we’ll come in half an hour if that’s ok.”
What? It’s 8:30 on a Monday night? I was seriously just about to go get in my pajamas, but instead, Ryan and I hopped in the car and drove to Orem to see this truck.

When we pulled up, the guy was outside taking his stuff out of the truck. “Oh,” he said, “I was expecting someone else. But that’s ok. Want to take it for a drive?” Of course we did. We couldn’t find anything glaringly wrong with the vehicle in the few minutes we drove it, and decided to be impulsive and get it. As we returned to the house, the other guy had come to look at it. Oh, no. We don’t have cash. All I have it a check. How much cash can I get at 9 at night? $300 from an ATM? We decided it was worth it to us to offer him a bonus if he took our check, since there were multiple buyers interested. “We would like to buy this truck, but we don’t have that much cash on us. Would you take a check for $1700?” He said yes. So, now we have a truck again. A manual truck. The kids can learn to drive stick shift again.

1454094753806
Natalie was excited about the new addition, since that means she will have something to drive, but of course, she’s the one who didn’t learn to drive stick. Some lessons may be in her future. I think Cole and Ryan are excited to drive it, too. We’re all happy to have a truck again to haul stuff instead of hooking up the tiny trailer, which is honestly such a pain.

So you see–even Ryan can be impulsive and spontaneous sometimes.
1454094636322

Of course, the next day he said, “It’s time to work out the budget.”

Auditions. Such fun.

Friday I checked my email and there was a note from a theater friend of mine, letting me know of a play, Curious Savage, I should audition for. I looked into it, and thought,
“Oh, I do miss theater, and it’s SO close. And I don’t have any bell things coming up, besides our regular once a week practice, and not too many Relief Society things are at night, And the play is at the end of Feb, so it wouldn’t take up my whole life for very long, and they do call for women in their 40’s and 50’s. Let me look at the calendar and see how many conflicts I have.”
It takes me about 2 minutes to go from ‘I’m too busy’ to ‘I’ve got time’.
I checked with my hubby to make sure he didn’t have any qualms about my auditioning, and then I looked for a monologue that I could do for an audition. I was not completely memorized, but I went anyway.
It was fun. In a nervous energy, not sure of yourself, what am I doing kind of way.
On Saturday, there were call backs. Even though this play is in Highland, I didn’t know a single other person there. They had me in consideration for three different women’s parts. One of them was Mrs. Savage. What? No, I didn’t want to be that part, I’m here for this smaller part of one of the “patients”. But, most of the people there were younger. there were only 2 other “mom” types. OK. Here goes. So, I read with several different people, in several different roles. They had four mini scenes, and they kept switching people out to see how they worked together, reading these different scenes. It was fun to be acting, even if it was just cold reading. I don’t exactly know what they are looking for, but I did my best.

I know that my bell choir director would frown upon me missing more than one rehearsal, and I could see by the schedule that there was a performance on a Wednesday, and for sure there would be a dress rehearsal the week before. I decided to send an email to the director letting him know that I have Wednesday night conflicts. I could be there for the performance, but couldn’t commit to being there any other Wednesdays. Then, if they decide that’s too difficult to work around, they won’t cast me in their play. (That sounds kind of arrogant. They might not like me for those parts and wouldn’t cast me anyway).

Today, when I opened the email with anticipation, I read over all names and did not see mine. For the first time EVER, I was not disappointed. I was a tiny bit relieved. I would LOVE to do a play. I LOVE theater. But I could recognize that I have a bit going on in my life, and I don’t really need the added stress of a play. As I think about the lady they did cast as Mrs. Savage, I think, “Ok. I think I was better, but maybe I don’t exactly fit into their vision of the play. Maybe I’m not old enough. Whatever.” And I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to memorize all that. How lazy of me! But I’m not disappointed. For the first time EVER after an audition and a not getting the part (which happens SO very much), I do not feel like I wasn’t good enough. Maybe I’m not good enough, or maybe I don’t fit the look they are going for. Or maybe they don’t like the fact that I have too many Wednesday nights I need off. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I did my best, I was honest, I wasn’t trying to impress.

I hope I can do a play this year. I will audition for more this spring and this summer. There may be a few weeks that we don’t have bell rehearsal when the choir goes on tour, and that gives me a little bit more wiggle room at that time. But I hope that I can have this same attitude the next time I audition. Instead of feeling bad that I wasn’t good enough, to recognize instead that I just may not be what they are looking for.

© 2024 Superpaige's Pad

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑