Today was our first day off since we started rehearsals. This was a good thing, but when I'm not busy "on the job", I tend to dwell on not being at home, and The Mommy Guilt starts to creep up. Add to that it was my daughter's school play today - an event marked by my absence - and it was actually kind of a hard day. I spoke to her, of course, and Grandpa will be emailing me the
pictures that he took but still - not being there when I feel like I "should" (and want to be) can be hard. I can't deny that I indulged in a bit of retail AND ice cream therapy (and as an aside, ladies, may I just recommend the image to the right as what I think may become my one of new favorite cosmetic products, happily onsale at Kohls this week)
That said, modern communication makes this job so much easier. I remember mumbleumph years ago when on my first tour just after getting married, and our long-distance phone bill was - literally! - nearly my entire fee! With cellphones and the internet, being away from home is a whole different ball o' wax now and, while it's still hard sometimes, one never feels quite as "gone" as before we had these links to keep some kind of continuity going. I can read the same webpages, I can always be reached via email, sms or cell, and I don't even have to go out and find the newspaper - I just log on and read the same things from wherever I am!
So, while I felt every one of the miles I'm away from home today acutely, there was a happy and unexpected flip side: I woke to a lovely "warm fuzzy" surprise in the form of an out-of-the-blue email from a favorite student of mine from Europe with whom I lost contact when we moved back to the US 10 years ago. This past weekend she walked past the house where we used to live, googled me, found me on Facebook and sent me a delightful note with her news. It was lovely to re-establish contact!
Home may feel very far away sometimes but, thankfully, people can now stay close to us no matter where we are, and that's a very nice thing to know.
pictures that he took but still - not being there when I feel like I "should" (and want to be) can be hard. I can't deny that I indulged in a bit of retail AND ice cream therapy (and as an aside, ladies, may I just recommend the image to the right as what I think may become my one of new favorite cosmetic products, happily onsale at Kohls this week)That said, modern communication makes this job so much easier. I remember mumbleumph years ago when on my first tour just after getting married, and our long-distance phone bill was - literally! - nearly my entire fee! With cellphones and the internet, being away from home is a whole different ball o' wax now and, while it's still hard sometimes, one never feels quite as "gone" as before we had these links to keep some kind of continuity going. I can read the same webpages, I can always be reached via email, sms or cell, and I don't even have to go out and find the newspaper - I just log on and read the same things from wherever I am!
So, while I felt every one of the miles I'm away from home today acutely, there was a happy and unexpected flip side: I woke to a lovely "warm fuzzy" surprise in the form of an out-of-the-blue email from a favorite student of mine from Europe with whom I lost contact when we moved back to the US 10 years ago. This past weekend she walked past the house where we used to live, googled me, found me on Facebook and sent me a delightful note with her news. It was lovely to re-establish contact!
Home may feel very far away sometimes but, thankfully, people can now stay close to us no matter where we are, and that's a very nice thing to know.
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