Get Up

"I know you're down, but when you gonna get up?"

Amel Larrieux 

NOW.

Finally, the answer is now.

My 8 year-old daughter's schedule is more jam-packed than mine has ever been.  In addition to school she takes theater classes, two hours a day, four days a week.  On Saturday mornings she takes hip-hop and on Saturday afternoons, improv.  In a few weeks she'll return to swimming on Sundays and her hectic schedule won't get any lighter until school ends and theater camp begins.

Amira wouldn't have it any other way.

When she first started taking theater I told her that if her grades slipped, she wouldn't be able to continue these after school activities. 

She got all A's.

The only time she misses a class is when her asthma flares up and she can't get out of bed. She works her ass off because she LOVES what she's doing and it shows.

At 8 years old, she has more passion for life than I have ever had.

She has determination, focus and drive.

I lost my way a long, long time ago.

My passions, my interests were never cultivated.  Not by me or anybody else. Simply put, life was different back then. Our parents worked their asses off to make sure we had food, clothes, and a home. If we were healthy, happy, well-educated kids then they had done their jobs.

And my mother and father? They damn sure did theirs. I couldn't have asked for a happier childhood but...at 43 years old...as a single mom who is currently doing little more than surviving...I want more.

The way my daughter feels about acting and dancing is how I want to feel everyday.

I don't know where the answers lie but I know where they are not.

On my couch.

I'm finally ready to get up.