On Stage At The Listen To Your Mother Show

Last year, I stood on stage and told an audience of almost complete strangers all of my business. They learned about my infertility scare, my debt baby, my kids eating cookies for breakfast, and my lack of concern over skipped baths. Yes... I told on myself.

Listen To Your Mother... 

What was this that kept showing up in my social media feeds? And why were so many fellow bloggers and writers either scrambling to be a part of it or raving about it?

Pure awesomeness is what it is!

Front and center, women (men too!) share personal stories of parenting fumbles and wins; or they tell those of their own parents and caregivers. Courageously, they stand there rendering their audience silent, shocked, or overcome with laughter or tears. Genius! 

I had to be a part of it.

Surrounding myself with the imperfect, often effing up crew is my therapy. Most days, I'm that mom who has no idea how she's going to make it. Sure... I've learned quite a bit in this decade of parenting but I'm still wingin' it! All I needed was those people, a stage, and "one mic." (Thanks Nas!)

First, however, I had to find an audition and a 'lotta' courage!

My audition was laid back, welcoming, and brief but you'd never know it by the fluctuation of my voice. I probably sounded like a puberty ridden teenage boy! I couldn't even stand up to read my piece because my knees were buckling. I felt like my life was 'golden' on the way to my audition, but not so much when I arrived. 

(See clips of my audition day here)

I was at my daughter's school when I found out I'd be a cast member. I was soooo excited! After meeting the remarkable women I'd share a stage with, the weeks that followed were full of recitals, marketing, sound checks, laughter, and tears. I even made my television debut. See it here. Can you tell I was nervous?

Fast forward to the day of the show. Everything worked out beautifully. All of my cast members gave stellar performances. You can see them here. Still today, I am in awe of those women and the impact they've had on my life.

Here is the piece I wrote and then read on stage. I hope you find something to relate to and are able to enjoy a good laugh!  To find out if a LTYM show will be coming to your area soon, go here. Tis the season for the show so be SURE to attend! This is the final year. I'm heartbroken but honored to have been a part of such a dynamic movement!