Theatre Makes Me a Better Mom

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I love musical theatre. Mostly being a part of community musical theatre. I love the challenge of learning new music, harmonies, and choreography. I like working with a familiar community and meeting new people who have very similar passions as I do.

It was hard and exhausting before I had kids; coming home from work, shoving down a quick dinner and running back out to perfect a kick line, getting home past when I am usually in bed (maybe showering), and somehow deescalating so I can get some sleep. Two kids later, I do my best to make sure my husband isn’t doing 100% of the parenting while I pursue my hobbies. That usually means making sure dinner is ready when we come home so we can make an attempt at eating dinner together, nursing my son, and keeping track of the goings on for the next day.

Some days I feel like mom and actress, Reese Witherspoon, and some days I feel like her character Rosita, the mom pig from the movie Sing!, learning her choreography while grocery shopping for her family.

Although play opportunities are year round, I only do a show on average about every 1.5-2 years. It may seem like a big space but being in a production is A LOT of work. The last production I was in, Legally Blonde the Musical, was a family affair. My husband got a role, as well as our dogs. Our daughter was only 8 months old, and was a very easy going baby. We brought her to every rehearsal, which she usually slept through, and during the performance the cast kept a close eye on her as she slept in her car seat under the dressing room sink. It was a dream situation for a new mom, and not one that will likely be repeated until my children are much, much older.

Motherhood can be heavy with the day-in day-out monotony. I love my kids, but I need a break too. I need to recharge and feel like my own person. Not just someone to give comfort or nurse, but be a human who has needs and passions to be filled. Being in theatre fills my bucket.

I need the reminder that it’s okay to step back and take time for myself. When I come back from my hobbies, my heart is a little lighter, and my soul is more joy filled. It makes me better. It makes me more energetic and more patient to the toddler tyrants that I serve.

I’m tired anyway, I might as well be in a play.