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NaBloPoMo Day 12: Theater Parent Emotions

(This post is a little more personal than usual.)

I'm a mom.

I know that doesn't come as a surprise; it's listed elsewhere (and I've written about it) on my blog and one of the things in my elevator speech about myself.
I missed this because I was
at an AFTA conference.

I wish that I could list that on my resume under "experience." Because it is the main reason why there aren't more bullet points. Opportunities or jobs or positions or speaking engagements that I turned down or didn't seek out because I needed to provide hands-on support for my family at home.

Because it's hard to do both at the same time. I've had to take my child to rehearsal this week for a show I'm producing/designing, which means she's up past her bedtime and seeing material that probably isn't appropriate for a 2nd grader (it's not R-rated, but definitely PG-13). I chose an online graduate school program specifically so that I could be at home as much as possible. I've asked family and friends to babysit because I had a show or a rehearsal or an arts-related meeting/conference far more often than any other reason.

I could move farther faster in my career if I gave up time with my daughter.

I could support her more in many different ways if I gave up my career.

But instead, I cobble together the work experiences I can and hope that I don't screw her childhood up too badly.

Are you a parent in the performing arts? Need to vent? Go ahead.

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 12, 2014 at 2:44 PM

    Yeah. I started writing a response and decided to put it over here instead - http://raesalley.wordpress.com/2014/11/12/d12-split-personality/

    ReplyDelete

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