A Daily Dose (Monday, February 20, 2012) Lost in Yonkers

Happy Monday!  Are you all home from work?  Is this a national holiday?  I get them confused. I can report in that my kids are home from school, but my real gauge is if my mother is at work (I don’t know, mother please report in your whereabouts), and if there is mail delivery.  New York City schools screw with my brain because my kids are on “winter break” all week.  Therefore,  I think the entire universe has come to a screeching halt to make pancakes and dream up inexpensive ways to entertain two kids.  Strike that, make it three kids, Charlotte has a friend in from Vermont who wants to see all of Manhattan.  So it is also a “staycation”.

Naturally, given the circumstances,  I did what any self respecting mother would do.  I left and spent two days with my friend Linda at her house. And I am not just talking days.  I spent the night, too.  In fact, I am still here.

Allow me to explain.

I needed a break and I have some work deadlines.  Couple that with Rob having some time off work, and voila.  I am on a retreat in Westchester.  Linda doesn’t have children.  Her house is clean.  It is quiet.  I slept in and I slept alone.  I took a bath.  I went for a two hour walk.  I’m never leaving.

Rob, on the other hand, is out to win Dad of the Year.  He took all three kids on the subway to the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  Then they headed over to Chinatown for dinner and shopping.  Come on.  That’s awesome.

Here is a sampling of the photo messages he sent today.

On the ferry

With a famous Lady New Yorker.

Just so excellent.

But let’s face it.  His day looks like a ton of work, especially to this mother who has been on almost around the clock kid duty for weeks now.  The day might look like fun, but those of us who have young kids in New York City know exactly how hard his day was.  Here’s what he didn’t send pictures of:  Beatrix and her sudden and new best friend Rosie (they came in on the boat together, and Rosie is also 4) as they were running and screaming around Ellis Island and dodging under velvet ropes to “play” on the museum displays.  I heard part of the day in a noisy and quickly aborted phone call.  Seemed awful, although Rob said it was “fantastic!”

On the other (and more serene) hand, my day looked like this:

Sleeping in.

Taking a bath.

Taking a walk and getting Lost in Yonkers (I really did).

And the highlight? Watching the season finale of Downton Abbey (no spoilers, don't worry).

The real question is, was I SUPPOSED to be sleeping in and taking a bath and getting lost and watching TV?  Or did I come out here for two nights to get work done.  I have a script to write for my Bronx Zoo job (I am almost ready to make a big announcement about that, so hang tight) and I have some other work pending.  The funny thing is, as I was packing to come out here, Rob was saying things like, “Get a lot done, or don’t.  Just relax.”  I really poo-pooed it.  I was coming out here to work.  And, I guess I did, in a way, I did make some decisions about the show.  I did hire someone to write the lyrics and help with the book.  I did help a friend with a casting project in return for a little help with a contract.  I did write some e-mails and schedule phone calls for tomorrow.  I did watch umpteen animal videos and researched the animal characters I am writing about.  I did manage to quiet my brain and sit in one uninterrupted space long enough to focus on just a couple of projects for a day and make some decisions about them.  Is my script written?  No.  But am I mentally in a place where I might be able to start? Yes.

I suppose that counts for something.  Naturally I have some mother guilt.  But not as much as I probably should have.

I have been thinking, Mark Motz, that I need to get back to my Broadway West story, as per your request.  My plan was to restart it today, and then I didn’t.  You see, I was too busy relaxing.  I think I have been rushing around grumpy and fried for too long.  So, I am sorry, but it must wait another day or two, because today it still felt like an obligation.  But I promise Mark, I promise, that we will get to it this week.  To everyone else, if you haven’t read it, please go here and catch up.  It really is a good story, and trust me when I say that all the good and juicy stuff is coming up.

Now.  To get back to my oh-so-mean cliffhanger in the video post on Friday:  what did SMASH head writer and creator, friend Theresa Rebeck say when I e-mailed her my SMASH game show Fact or Fiction?  As you might recall, I was pretty nervous about it, for fear that she think I was criticizing her accuracy, rather than using her fictional show as a launching pad for discussion about what happens in real life.

So.  She wrote me back right away and this is what she said.

She was busy writing episode 13 and would get back to me in a few days after she had the episode more under her belt.  But, she did add that she was excited to read what I’d written.  So….that’s it.  Sorry it wasn’t more exciting, but the wait continues, so that is kind of fun.  I e-mailed back, “Episode 13!!  Oh this is great!  I have so many more quizzes to write!”  Of course, or I won’t if she puts the kabbash on it.

Okay.  This is short, but it is 1:29 am and I am exhausted from all the sleeping and the bathing and the walking and the country air.  I need to go get in my all white guest bed and watch a Netflix movie.  Tomorrow I will tell you a little bit more about what prompted me to come to my friend Linda’s and why things will have to change when I go home.

(Another Daily Dose tomorrow.  Same time, same place).

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