Horses, Hairspray and Hormones

This week has been a roller coaster of events and emotions. Tuesday night after all the drama at the DMV and braces, the kids had their callbacks for Hairspray. Chelsey, Whitley, Stephen and Rhett were all called back to try for Corney Collins dancers. They had tons of fun, but now the anxiety begins. Did we make it??

Wednesday we got up and headed back to the DMV and ortho. Whitley had to three point turn twice, but she passed! She is official. Rhett got his brackets on, but they need to pull two adult teeth so waited for the wires. I made a quick call to a friend of mine who is a dentist and he had room to fit him in that afternoon. Rhett was NOT happy to say the least. He had track pictures right after school and then we headed him off to the chair. He did really well and the two teeth were out in no time. He is still sore and chews a little funny, but it's done and he goes back to the ortho to finish the braces next Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the cast list was supposed to be posted by noon. Chelsey was glued to her laptop all morning. She had determined to come down every weekend to rehearsals so she could be in the show. The director had agreed, so she read for both a lead and a dancer. By afternoon, still no list. The kids were all going crazy. I had already determined I would not be seeing my name on the list, but was still so excited for them. Whitley had spent Monday night crying on my bed saying she was sure she wasn't going to make it. To add to the mix, we were supposed to be riding horses at a friends house.

Here's where the real drama begins. Right before we were needing to leave, me for the dentist, the kids to ride horses....Chelsey got an email from the director telling her that after much debate they decided it wouldn't be fair to cast her and another boy who also couldn't make all the rehearsals. She was crushed! She had it all planned out and was so excited. She has had some trials being away and really thought this was the answer to get her over the hump. She was crying but I had to get Rhett to the dentist. She called right after I left and said she wasn't going to take the kids to ride horses, she just wanted to stay home. I encouraged her to take them anyway and just stay until I could get there. She had been so excited to still be here for the horse riding. She agreed but not happily.

Once I got to the Bradshaw's, I found Chelsey up on a horse and the kids roasting marshmallows over a little fire. She was glad she had stayed and was feeling a little better. While we were there, one of the kid's friends texted and said the list was up. All three kids made it for dancers and Glade made it for Wilbur. They were elated.

Once home, fed and cleaned up, Chelsey came into my room in tears again. We had a nice long talk and lots of tears and a little laughing about what her future holds for her. It's a really hard transition trying to figure out what you want to do and having to wait sometimes to actually "do". After a good cry, we decided ice cream was calling. She and I drove to Sonic and got a treat. I hope I said the things she needed to hear or that she heard the things that needed to be said. I love that we can talk more like adults and that she still needs her Mommy. What a rough month she has had.

In the end, we all ended up making the play. I got cast as "ensemble". Not exactly sure what that will entail but it's good enough for me! It will be so fun to have this experience with the kids. Rhett has mostly recovered from his ordeal and Whitley is satisfied to be a licensed driver. I think Chelsey has a positive outlook on the up coming months and is anxious to get back into a good routine of school and life. For me, it's one day at a time. This begins the busiest time of year for me. So much going on. Three birthdays in the next 3 weeks, two races, play practice, ball starts, and the big 40 is looming close. Better get my boots on and "cowboy up" as Gram would say.