Ache in the Gut

Most memorable stomach aches (...because this is what I've been thinking about, when not stressing out about Little Women):

1. Swine flu, 2009
2. Morning sickness, 2010
3. When I had a tick in my belly button, 1992

4. Labor, 2011

5. Little Women, 2012

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On Monday, I arrived at school to work on Little Women stuff. The tailor was coming for costume fittings, and there were a lot of kids that needed to be fitted before they left (not everyone was staying for rehearsal). We had a limited time to do this, so that was stressful enough. But when I got to the drama closet to grab a hoop skirt, I was confronted by an open door. This scared me immediately because this door is meticulously locked all the time. When I turned on the light, I noticed everything was moved around, and nothing looked the same as how I'd left it on Thursday. I couldn't even fathom what had been changed, because so much had been altered.

I went to the man who is in charge of maintenance and asked him if he knew what had happened. Only the directors and maintenance have keys to this room.

He looked confused, and then his face registered some recognition as he remembered that this room had FLOODED over the weekend. Instant panic! He said that they noticed water pouring out of the room, so had opened the door, fixed the problem, and moved the wet stuff around. Oh brother.

There is a small sink in our closet. The faucet had been left on, but it wasn't such a big deal since the water was off in this building. Apparently, they turned the water in the building on, and flooding ensued.

I'm still nervous about what has been affected by the water. I'm not sure about the extent of the damage, because between the rehearsal and the costume fittings I never had time to fully check out the situation.

I really hate this last month of production. There's so much to do, and not enough time to do it. We need more time for rehearsal, and I need more time for the million little jobs. It's especially stressful when other people don't understand the pressure that we're under. Parents don't understand that their kids need to be at rehearsals, students don't understand how little time they have left to get their parts ready, administration doesn't understand that we need more time, and everyone doesn't understand how much work a play requires. I was telling a lady last week that I worked 8 hours the previous day on play stuff. She was shocked, since it was not a rehearsal day. "What were you DOING?"

Well. I was DOING a lot.

My to-do list is five pages long.

And here, I sit. Blogging.

Everything just takes LONGER. For instance, I've been trying to pay the royalties to perform this script for five months. Last week, I thought it had finally gotten sorted out, and then I received an email that there were further complications! I wish that there was a button that solved everything instantly--this drawn out issue is so exhausting, I'm sick of it!

I'm getting to the point where I'm fantasizing about life-after-Little-Women. What will I do with my extra time? Scrap book, picnic, watch a movie, organize my closet....

It's a love-hate relationship. I can't imagine NOT doing Little Women, I'm enjoying the process. But the amount of work is currently outshining the level of enjoyment. The last few days are always tricky--it's a rough balancing act.

Oh man! Willow just woke up! I thought she would sleep for her typical two hours. But no, she is already awake after thirty minutes.

~julie